A Summer Down Under
by ChiaMarie23
Summary: When Kayla gets to visit her friends in Sydney, Australia for the first time she knew it would be a great experience. Little did she know that she would also get to meet her favorite actor/celebrity crush, Jai Courtney.
1. The Arrival

**A Summer Down Under – A Jai Courtney Fan Fiction**

**A/N: **Yes, I know this is not an Eric from Divergent fic. I had no idea where else to put it.

I do not own Jai/Eric or Divergent. The only thing I really own are the characters Kayla, Susanna, Eli, Keegan and Mel because they are original characters. Enjoy!

**Chapter One – The Arrival**

**Kayla**

"Only a few more hours," I told myself. "Then I'm off this plane to see Susanna, Eli, Keegan and Mel."

I was on my way to Sydney, Australia. At twenty-five years old, I was _finally_ financially capable of giving myself the gift of a wonderful summer vacation. Free from listening to people call into my work demanding I fix whatever problem they're having. Thank goodness, too. I really needed this vacation. I needed to get away from the pissed off customers, my miserably pathetic coworkers and my giant pain-in-the-ass of a roommate. Now, I could tolerate the first two pretty well if I didn't have to deal with the last one - my roommate. I recall lying to get out of the house so I could call Susanna about how much she got on my nerves. She was a "flavor of the week" type of girl. Fortunately she wouldn't be that way if it weren't for the way she is towards people, but unfortunately no one can change it. It's really as if she's a hormonal bitch every day of the month, and that's why it makes me crazy. Everything ends up a huge deal for her. This includes break ups. I can't tell you how many times I heard her and her flavor fighting, swearing and being nasty to one another and then two days later doing it again.

"We are going to be getting ready to land soon," I heard the flight attendant say. "Please buckle your seatbelts." All buckled up, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the earphones and the mp3 player that accompanied it. I put the earphones in my ears and pressed play on the player. Just like that, I floated off to music world. I didn't mind being on a plane, that part didn't bother me. The parts that did are the takeoff and the landing, so to prevent an issue I began carrying my mp3 player around.

When the plane landed and I was finally able to get off, I made my way to the baggage claim and grabbed the two that were mine, making a total of three bags - including my carry-on. After gathering my things, I made my way toward the doors to leave the airport. I was now in Sydney, Australia. My summer was about to begin. I got onto an escalator and was able to see the doors. As the escalator moved downward, I saw them: Susanna, Keegan, Eli and Mel all near a bench close to the door. My heart flipped with excitement as their eyes all met mine. Susanna was the first to spot me, and I saw her mouth move to tell the other three that she saw me before pointing at me so they could see. I waved with a huge grin. When I got off the escalator I quickly walked towards them, setting my bags down beside me within seconds of Susanna damn near tackling me with a hug.

"I sure have missed you!" the happiness in her voice obvious.

"I've missed you too," I replied. "All of you." I looked at each of them. We shared a group hug before Keegan and Eli picked up my stuff for me and the five of us walked out to the car. The last time I'd seen them was also the first time ever. We had all met in a chat online, and became very close. We all had something in common - gaming. They, however, shared one other common fact - they were Australian. I was the American in the bunch, but I didn't mind. We all talked about a wide variety of different things, from American customs, food, snacks, drinks, Australian customs and currency to government, sites to see and much more. Marine biology was something Susanna and I shared interest in. Conversations we had about it went on for hours. Now I was finally in their home... I would get to see their way of life for an entire summer. Three summers ago they'd all had a vacation in the States, and stayed with me. Now it was my turn.

"So how are the States?" Keegan asked as they loaded my stuff into the car. Susanna and I were getting into the car as I turned to answer him.

"Not bad. Probably missing you guys though." I winked at him.  
I didn't mean it in a flirtatious manner. We're friends, and this is how we act towards one another, as friends. If either of us had any interest in each other, we would have known already and told the other.

We all loaded into the car after that and drove back to the flat they stayed in, socializing the entire time. It was nice, getting to be around my close friends again. It's hard for me to tolerate other people in large doses, so I typically act antisocial and put up a wall. But not with them. With them I'm social, silly, content, happy even. They're like family, but not the kind you're stuck with that you barely tolerate simply because you have no choice. They're family that I chose, and they chose me as well


	2. The Beach

**A/N:** Thank you for the wonderful reviews! :) As requested, here is chapter two! It is MUCH longer than chapter one, and I hope you love reading it as much as I loved writing it!

**I do not own Jai Courtney, Divergent Trilogy or anything else mentioned in this story. This story is pure fiction and totally not real. The only characters I own are Kayla, Keegan, Susanna, Eli and Mel because they're original characters I created.**

Enjoy! And please continue to post reviews! I love reading what you guys think of my writing.

**Chapter Two – The Beach**

**Kayla**

"So, what's everyone doing this morning?" I asked as I came out of the guest room – my bedroom for the summer.

"Work." The four of them replied at the same time. My heart sank.

"You can go to the beach if you want to, though." Susanna beamed at me. "By the looks of it, you could use the sunshine." I hit her arm playfully and giggled.

"I know, I know… I'm a ghost! It's the lack of sunshine in the States." I joked. The four of them joined in on my laughter.

"Well, if you go take my car," Keegan tossed me his keys. "I catch a ride with a co-worker." I heard a horn honk outside. "And that's him. See you guys later." Keegan walked to the door, opened it and left. Soon after, the rest of them left. Susanna wished me a good time at the beach before leaving. I went into my room and got changed into my swim suit and sun dress that I bought to use as a cover-up. I grabbed my towel, sunblock and sunglasses, shoving them all into my beach bag. I slid on my sandals and walked out the door, Keegan's keys in my hand. I got into the car and started it, heading to the beach.

When I got there, I got out of the car and saw the waves crashing on some of the big rocks. I noticed a handful of guys taking turns going out to surf the waves to my right as I walked towards the water. I set my bag down close to the water, but not close enough to soak it if the tide came in. I took off my sundress, revealing my two-piece bikini and headed for the water.

"The tide's strong today! Careful out there!" I heard one of the guys yell. I looked over and returned his smile, waving.

"Thanks for the heads up!" I replied. Out of the corner of my eye, I kept looking over at him. He looked to be about 6'1, short dirty blonde-looking hair and a little more than a 5 o'clock shadow for a beard. He looked athletic and muscular as well. Very attractive-looking.

I continued to make my way out to the water. I stood by one of the smaller rocks in the water. He was right; the tide is strong as it almost knocks me over. I slowly inch my way farther out into the water and away from the rock. I start to feel more confident as the tide calms a little, so I begin to inch out farther and farther. I get to where the water touches my midriff and smile. I looked over to see the same guy who had given me the heads up, and suddenly everything went black.

**Jai**

My mates and I were having a good time watching one another surf the strong waves, yelling and whooping to one another as each one either successfully rode the wave, or crashed into the water. Laughter usually followed when one of us crashed. We all knew never to swim alone though, that was very dangerous. Just as one of my buddies crashed into the water, I saw her to my left. She looked rather short, her light brown hair in a ponytail. My eyes followed her as she moved, watching her in her blue and white striped sundress. She stopped, set down her stuff and then took off her sundress, revealing her slim body and blue bikini. She looked pretty hot in my opinion, judging just from her body anyway. I watched her as she walked out towards the water. Remembering that I got hammered by a wave my first time out today, I called out to her.

"The tide's strong today! Careful out there!" I hollered.

"Thanks for the heads up!" she called back and continued to make her way out to the water. I continued to talk to one of my buddies that was beside me and glanced in her direction occasionally, keeping an eye on her. I watched as she moved from the rock and inched out little by little. She must've been feeling confident because when she got a good distance from the shore and the rock, she turned to look at me with a smile. I smiled back and within seconds she was gone.

"Shit!" I began running in her direction without thinking about it a second time. I got into the water, fighting the tide and dove under. I hoped and prayed that I would get to her before the tide dragged her out too far. After all, there were sharks out here if you went out far enough. Thankfully, she'd only been moved just a tad and I was able to grab her, bring her head above the water and start swimming toward the shore. When we got to the shore, I picked her up and carried her over to where I had a towel already laid out. I placed her on it and checked to see if she was breathing.  
"She's not breathing." I told my mate next to me who, amongst the chaos, had asked me if she was okay. I thought I heard him begin to call an ambulance, but I wasn't sure. I began doing CPR to resuscitate her, hoping that it worked. I'd never seen anyone drown before and I _definitely_ didn't want today to be the day to change that. After a few moments, I heard her cough so I quickly turned her to her side so she could spit up the water. As she was catching her breath, I called out to my mate and told him she was okay.

"Miss, do you know where you are?" I asked her.

"The beach, I think… in Australia." she replied a little unsure.

"Yes, you are." I confirmed for her. "You were out in the water and the tide knocked you under. I ran in to rescue you." I told her. She looked at me like she couldn't believe I was sitting in front of her.

"Wait a minute," she paused. "Don't I know you from somewhere?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. Do you?" I responded. I wanted to see what she said she'd knew me from. So far since I'd been home, I'd gotten Divergent, I Frankenstein, Felony, the new Die Hard movie and Jack Reacher.

"I've seen you before…" she paused, looking away. I could tell she was trying hard to think about it. "No way, I must be dreaming…" she looked at me again. "Eric? From Divergent?" yep… there it was. "Jai Courtney?" oh, she _did_ know my name.

"You would be correct." I grinned. "And no, you're not dreaming." I added.

"Wait a minute, let me see if I get this straight. You, Jai Courtney, happened to be at the same beach where I – foolishly – got pummeled by the tide coming in and almost drowned, and you saved me?" she asked me like it was so hard to believe.

"Yes." I replied. It was cute watching her this way. Before I could say anything else the paramedics arrived to take a look at her. I backed away to let them do their job and went to talk to my mates. I could hear one of the paramedics continuously tell her they needed her to look at them, which only confirmed my feeling as if someone had been staring at me. They asked her several different times if she was feeling okay and if she needed them to take her to the hospital. Even though she kept reassuring them she was fine and didn't need to go, they continued asking. I excused myself from my friends and made my way over.

"Are you sure?" I heard the paramedic in front of her ask for the hundredth time.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm fine. I don't need to go to the hospital." she reassured them.

"If she feels bad later, I'll bring her in guys." I offered, knowing it was the only way they were going to back off. With that, they packed up their gear and left.

"Thank you, so much." she looked at me with a smile.

"It's really no trouble." I returned the smile. "Do you have friends on another part of the beach?" I asked.

"No. I'm here by myself." she replied. "My friends are all at work."

"Would you want some company until they got home? I'm not sure I feel comfortable leaving you alone after what happened out there." I gestured to the water.

"If it would make you feel better, then sure." she responded. I could tell she didn't want to seem too eager to accept my offer, but didn't want to come off like she didn't care either.

"If you're okay to drive, I can follow you back to where you're staying and then we can go out to lunch in my car." I offer.

"Sure." she replied. I said bye to my friends, and then followed her to grab her stuff. She threw her dress back on and we went to the parking lot. When we got back to her place, I parked behind her.  
"I need to go get changed before we go. Wanna come in and wait?" she asked me.

"Sure." I paused, walking up to the door right behind her. "I didn't know you were staying with Keegan." I said.

"I didn't know you two knew each other." she replied. "I'm staying here for the summer."

"I figured you weren't from here." I grinned as we went inside and she walked to her room.

"Oh yeah? How's that?" she asked me as she went into her room.

"Because you sound American." I called to her. A few minutes later she came back out in jean shorts and a light purple halter top, purple sandals on her feet.

"That's because I _am_ American." she replied. "Ready?" I nodded and followed her out the front door. She locked it as I walked to the passenger side and opened the door for her. She got in, thanking me for opening the door and I got into the driver's side. After pulling out of the drive way, I spoke up.

"So, what are you in the mood for?" I asked. She looked at me funny. "For lunch." I added. Part of me wondered where her mind went before I clarified, but I quickly shook it off.

"Know any good places to get pizza?" she asked me. _A girl after my own heart_, I thought.

"I definitely do." I grinned, heading for the pizza place I always went to. When we got there I shut the car off, got out and opened the door for her. I held out my hand to help her out of the car and she thanked me with a smile. When we got to the doors of the pizza place, I opened the door for her that was labeled 'enter'.

"Do you do that a lot?" she asked.

"Do what?" I asked, not sure what she meant.

"Open the doors." she clarified. I was a little surprised that it seemed foreign to her that a guy was gallant.

"All the time, for any woman I'm with." I responded with a smile. I enjoyed being a good guy, and my mum taught me to be a gentleman. She gave me a surprised look. "Why so surprised?" I asked.

"I thought chivalry was dead." she responded flatly.

"Not in me, it's not." I said proudly. "And it never will be." I added. She smiled at me, almost as if I restored a little bit of her faith in men. We sat down at our table and talked until a waitress came over to take our drink orders. I asked for a sprite, and she asked for a coke. Shortly after that, the waitress brought our drinks and took our order. Amongst the conversation, a thought hit me straight out of the left field of my brain.

"You know, it just occurred to me that you never told me your name." I said. Feeling a little embarrassed, she looked over at me with a grin.

"I'm Kayla." she replied, giggling a little bit.

"I like that name, Kayla. It's a very pretty name, for a beautiful young lady." I returned her grin, making her flush a light pink in her cheeks. We continued to talk about a variety of different things. She mentioned she was from Los Angeles, to which I replied that I lived there part time when I was working on a film. We got on the topic of her being here for the summer, and I mentioned I was only here for the summer as well and then I was going back to LA and back to work on a new movie. We discussed our love for pizza, sports – to which she said that she loved baseball… the Detroit Tigers being her favorite team. We talked about funny things that happened on the set of Divergent, and she asked me more about the different movies I'd worked on so far. Her laugh was infectious, which made me very happy. She had a beautiful smile and her voice was like music to my ears.

After we ate lunch, I offered to drive her back to Keegan's. When we pulled in, he was sitting on the front porch, playing on his smartphone. I shut the car off and opened her door for her.

"Were you locked out?" she asked him. He nodded. "I'm sorry Keeg! I didn't think to ask you what time you got off this morning when you left."

"It's fine Kayla, really." he reassured her with a smile before turning to look at me. "I see you met one of my best buds." he opened his arms to hug me. "It's good to see you, mate."

"You too, bro. How've you been?" I asked.

"Not bad, not bad. How was LA?" he asked as we all went inside.

"Good, good. It's a helluva lot cooler temperature-wise there than it is here." I chuckled.

"Of course it is," he paused. "As long as you're not there." he joked. The three of us laughed. We all hung out for a while, playing video games. I explained to Keegan and the other three people he lived with how I had saved Kayla and that was how we met. Keegan also boasted about my ability to play guitar, and brought his out for me to play a little bit for Kayla. Before I knew it, it was getting late at night.

"Well," I stood up. "I'd better be off. I'm going surfing again in the morning." I added.

"I'll walk you out, Jai." Kayla stood up, walking over to me.

"It was great to see you again, Jai!" Susanna smiled at me. I smiled back and nodded as Kayla and I made our way to the door. She came outside with me and smiled.

"Thank you for saving me. I didn't think to say it earlier." she looked at me sheepishly. _Beautiful_ was the only word in my mind at that point.

"It's no trouble. I'm glad I bumped into you up there, regardless of the reason. I had a great day with you." I grinned. She slowly leaned forward, hesitating for a minute. I could tell she was moving in for a hug, so I moved the rest of the way, putting my arms around her. The hug lasted probably a little longer than it should have, but I honestly didn't want to let go and it seemed like she didn't either. It was nice, feeling someone against me again. I hadn't felt anyone against me like that in a long time.

"I'm really glad I got to meet you, even though it was because you saved my life." she giggled.

"Would you want to come up to the beach with me and the fellas? Just to watch us surf?" I asked nervously. Why was I so nervous all the sudden?

"Sure." she grinned at me and my heart felt like it was going to leap out of my chest.

"Okay then," I beamed. "I'll be here to pick you up at 8 tomorrow morning, okay?" I began walking to my car.

"Sounds great," she replied, making my heart leap again. "I'll see you then."


	3. Hanging Out

**Author's** **Note:** This chapter is a bit long, but hopefully you all enjoy it. I tried to make it so you guys could see a lot of dialog between them later on in the chapter. Anyway, enjoy! I own nothing, except for Kayla and her friends. I do NOT own Jai, Divergent or anything like that. :)

**Chapter Three – Hanging Out**

**Kayla**

The next morning, I woke up to Susanna shaking me.

"Hey, wake up sleepyhead." I couldn't figure out why she was waking me up. I looked at my clock: 8 am.

"What's going on?" I asked sleepily.

"Jai's sitting in the living room waiting for you." Susanna chuckled at me. She must've thought I was being silly or something. Suddenly the previous day's events flashed through my mind and I flung myself out of bed. I slept in a white tank and my short-like underwear. Just as I was about to grab clothes to get dressed the door opened again.

"Hey sleeping beauty you gonna get u-"

"JAI!" I squeaked, trying to grab something to cover myself up with. I felt indecent. He looked me up and down a few times before focusing on my face and smiling.

"You do realize I saw more of you yesterday in your bikini, right?" he teased. I slid over to the head of my bed, grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. He ducked just in time to avoid the pillow and gave me a warning look. "Don't you go starting pillow fights with me, missy. You'll get it if you keep it up." he was trying not to smile, I could see it. Giggling, I grabbed two smaller and hurled them at him one right after the other. The first one missed, but the second one got him as he was about to make a 'you missed me' face at me.  
"Okay! That's it! Now you're gonna get it!" he jumped on the bed to get over it, chasing me. I quickly ran around the bed and out into the living room.

"Okay kids, I'm leaving! See you later!" Susanna called to both of us, who weren't paying attention, before she left for work.

Jai cornered me in the kitchen close to the water faucet, which I had noticed had a sprayer – I grinned wildly. He took another step towards me and I grabbed it, turning on the cold water first, and squirted him with it for a second. He froze in his tracks and stared me down when I put it down.

"Payback's a bitch, you do realize that right?" he grinned at me.

"I know." I grinned. "I just got payback… remember?" I asked.

"For?"

"You seeing me in my pajamas," I paused to think. "And for teasing about seeing me in my bikini yesterday." I tacked on. He chuckled at me.

"Just you wait, dear Kayla. I will seek my revenge." a large grin resting on his face. He always had such a full smile, or so I'd noticed the little time I'd spent with him. It was gorgeous.

"Mhm." I rolled my eyes and bounced my way to my room again. "I'm going to get dressed!" I hollered.

"I'll be out here playing guitar!" he called back to me.

Ten minutes later, I came out in a pair of tight black yoga pants and a red tank top. Jai stared at me for a moment in amazement.

"Jai, honey… pick your jaw up off the floor. I don't look _that_ good." I chuckled.

"You may not think so, but I beg to differ." he grinned at me. I chuckled some more.

"Let's go, you big goof." I motioned toward the door, still chuckling.

When we got to the beach, his friends were already down in the sand, a couple of them already in the water trying to catch a wave. As usual, he came over to my side after parking and opened the door.

"Thank you." I grinned at him as he closed the door and made our way toward his friends.

"Hey guys! This is Kayla," he introduced me to all of them. Sheepishly, I smiled and waved at them.

"The girl you saved yesterday, right Jai?" one of the guys asked him. He nodded. "How are you feeling, Kayla?" he asked me.

"Oh I'm fine, thanks to Jai of course." I grinned at Jai who was grinning as well, but also looked like he was blushing a little.

I stood by him as we watched some of the guys go out and try to surf the waves. More often than not, the guys were crashing instead of catching the waves. After encouragement from some of the other guys, Jai went out into the water and paddled to catch a wave. When the wave came, he surprisingly caught it and surfed it in. I cheered loudly, hoping he could hear me. After surfing a few more waves, he came back in and walked directly to me after giving one of his friends their board back.

"I'm worn out, so do you wanna come take a walk with me?" he asked me.

"Just us?" I asked.

"Well, yeah," he chuckled. "Is that a problem?"

"No." I shook my head. And with that, we walked away from his friends and along the shore.

"So, have you ever played 20 questions?" he asked as we walked. I nodded, grinning. "Want to play?" he asked, returning my grin. I nodded again. "Okay," he paused as we kept walking. I could tell he was trying to think of a question.  
"What do you do? For your job, I mean." he asked.

"I work in a call center where I fix people's technical problems." I replied. "Other than surfing, what's a hobby you have?" I asked.

"Playing guitar." he replied simply. "Least favorite thing about home, in LA?"

"My roommate." he chuckled.

"Really? Why?"

"Honestly?" I asked, he nodded. "Because She's an annoying, whiny bitch who sleeps around a lot." I blurted out.

"Define a lot?" he asked.

"She has a flavor of the week almost every week, if not sooner." I clarified. He nodded and kept quiet. I assumed that meant he was waiting for my next question. "When's your birthday?" I asked.

"March 15th." he replied. "I'm going to be a little personal here… do you have a boyfriend?" he asked bluntly. I shook my head.

"No. I've been single almost a year now." I replied.

"Oddly enough, so have I." he said.

"Favorite candy?" I asked him.

"Peanut M&amp;Ms." he grinned. I adored that grin of his. It was so full, so cheerful and absolutely gorgeous on him. "Favorite thing about being in a relationship when you are in one?" he asked. I was beginning to wonder where the left-field questions were coming from.

"The snuggling." I blushed, looking at him for a reaction. He grinned at me, to which I grinned back. "What about yours?" I asked.

"The same," he paused to look at me with a smile. "And kisses. I strongly believe that every kiss from someone you've decided to share yourself with should have lots of meaning behind it." he explained. I felt my heart pick up its pace a little bit. I softly took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, trying to slow my heart a little bit. "What is something that you've tried, but will never do again?" he asked. I opened my mouth and stopped myself for a minute.

"Sexually or in general?" I asked, mentally kicking myself for feeling the need for clarification. Jai chuckled a little.

"Either." he grinned. I glanced behind us and realized I couldn't see his friends anymore from where we were.

"I'm gonna go with a more appropriate answer and say raw sushi." I answered. "It's a texture thing." I added. "What about you?"

"Sexually or in general?"

"Either." I giggled.

"I'm gonna be more daring here and say that I will probably not try to go skinny dipping in a pool again." he said. I could tell he was a little bashful over it.

"_You've_ skinny dipped?" I asked in a surprised tone. He nodded. "What happened?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"I was dating this girl, and she _begged_ me to try it, since I hadn't before. When you're a guy you have ways of being tempted and absolutely nothing can make you resist those temptations." he explained. "Anyway, she convinced me to strip down and hop into her pool, told me she'd be back and when I dunked myself under water for a minute she grabbed my clothes and went inside. Next thing I know I'm being arrested for indecency."

"Wow!" I replied, shocked that someone could be so catty.

"I left her a nice little voicemail after my mum bailed me out of jail, and never spoke to her again. I've been extremely cautious with who I date ever since."

"I can imagine. I have a little bit of a trust issue myself." I told him.

"Well then it appears I will be using my next question to ask about it. What led to you having a trust issue?" he asked.

"My last few boyfriends always tried to go farther than I'd let them and overstep boundaries." I explained.

"I'm sorry." he frowned at me. I smiled back to lighten the mood.

"It's in the past now," I said in an upbeat tone. "Just means I have to be more cautious and more firm with my yes's and no's."

"Not with me, you won't." he said, catching me off guard.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I will only go as far with any woman as she will let me. If she says stop, I stop. I don't pass judgment; I don't try to push the barrier or anything like that. I stop and I find something else for us to focus on." he explained.

"See I wish more guys were like you," I smiled. "I'm tired of dating assholes who have no idea what the meaning of the word 'no' is." I paused to look at him after we sat in silence walking for a few minutes. "It's my turn, isn't it?" I asked. He nodded. "Okay, um.." I tried to think of what to ask him next. "Oh! Where do you see yourself in five years from now?" I watched him make his 'thinking' face and grinned. He was so cute when he made that face.

"Still acting, but hopefully at least thinking about getting engaged to someone I've been in a serious relationship with for a few years. Umm…" he continued to make the face. "Hopefully by then she and I live together in LA and are talking about our future together." he added.

"I hope that works out for you." I smiled.

"Thank you, me too." he smiled back. "What's the most daring thing you've ever done?"

"I ran down the street naked once," I admitted. "It was a dare, and my friends and I were having a girl's night at my place. _Before_ I got a pain-in-the-ass roommate." Jai looked at me for a minute before laughing. I joined in soon after. Calming down, I asked him my next question. "How about you? What is the most daring thing you've done?"

"The skinny dipping thing." he replied.

"Nuh-uh! Really?"

"Really. Why? Do you not believe me?" I shook my head and he laughed. "Why not?" he asked.

"You seem more daring than that." I said simply.

"Oh, I do?" I nodded and he grinned at me. "What's your favorite holiday?" he changed the subject.

"Independence day," I paused to see his expression. He gave me a curious look. "The fireworks tend to make the evening rather romantic." I clarified. "What's your favorite food?" I asked.

"Pizza. Definitely pizza." he grinned at me. I couldn't help but chuckle at how cute he was. I know I'd done it about a million times, but each and every time it just got better and better. "Who knows you best?" he asked.

"I'd have to say Susanna. She and I share a great deal and we're closer than I've ever been with my family or any other friends." I replied. "How funny do you believe you are on a scale of one to ten?"

"I'd say probably about a 7 because I have a dry sense of humor and sometimes it pisses people off who don't know me very well." he explained. "What's your favorite animal?" he asked.

"Great white shark." I answered and asked him the same question.

"Not really sure I have a favorite, but I like lions. What's your favorite memory?" he asked me.

"When Keegan, Susanna, Eli and Mel came to the states two summers ago to spend the summer with me, we were goofing off and Keegan threw a water balloon meant to hit Susanna, but instead it hit me." I paused. "We had an awesome water balloon fight all because of that." I grinned. "How would your friends describe you, do you think?" I asked.

"Sensitive, soft and protective of women. What's the silliest thing you've done?"

"I slipped on a tarp because I didn't know it was wet during the water balloon fight, landed straight on my butt." I giggled. He joined in as well. "Would you rather watch sports or play sports?"

"Definitely play. I have a short attention span and can't simply watch for periods of time." he paused. "Where would you travel if you could?"

"Now that I've traveled here, I would have to say probably London." I replied. "What is your biggest success until now?" I asked.

"Hard to say really," he paused. "Divergent was a huge success, as were quite a few of the movies I've done so far." he explained. "Do you have any tattoos?" he asked. I shook my head.

"I have a fear of needles." I explained. "Do you have any?" I asked. He showed me two of them, one on each arm.

"Do you drink alcohol?" he asked.

"Occasionally… but I try to limit myself." I said. "Do you?"

"Yeah. I don't make a habit out of it though. I'll drink socially and get drunk every now and again… but I don't sit by myself and get pissed to the point of passing out." he explained. "Do you drink coffee?" he looked at me as we approached some rocks. They weren't huge, but they weren't small either. I'd say they were just big enough to sit on, which is exactly what we did.

"Sometimes, but only if I'm running on almost no sleep and I'm able to mix some sort of chocolate into it. Usually Nesquick." I told him.

"I've never tried that before. I'm gonna have to see how that tastes." he said.

"I think you might like it." I grinned, moving on to my next question. "Are you religious?"

"Not really. What is a hobby you enjoy?"

"I enjoy singing occasionally, but I don't sing in front of people often." I said. "Are you a morning person?" I asked him, moving on with the game.

"Hell no," he laughed. "I have to have coffee just to be pleasant." I laughed along with him. "How early are you normally up when you're home in LA?" he asked me.

"On a day I have to go in to work, usually between 5 and 6am so I'm able to function by the time I need to leave the house. But on a regular day I think I sleep until 7 at the latest." I said. "What is the most outrageous thing you've been asked in an interview?" I asked.

"Oh shit… the one thing that sticks out in my mind was a Reddit interview I did where my fans got to ask me whatever they wanted," he paused, our eyes meeting. "And someone flat out asked me if I was circumcised." my jaw dropped.

"You're kidding!" I said, shocked. He shook his head. "Oh my gosh, wow." I was in disbelief. "How did you handle it?" I asked.

"I ignored it and moved on, answering other questions. But it shocked me that they asked." he said. "What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you in public?" he asked.

"Oh gosh…" I giggled. "I was at a movie with some guy, on our first date. We were leaving the movie theater and I dropped my phone. I bent down to pick it up and my pants ripped right down the middle from the middle of the ass to the crotch. It was _horrible_." I explained. "Strangest food craving?"

"Pizza for breakfast count?" he asked me with a grin.

"I suppose so." I grinned back.

"Go ahead and ask your last one and then I'll ask mine." he told me.

"Okay," I had no idea why all the sudden he wanted me to ask mine when I just asked one, but I went ahead with it. "What is something few people know about you?" I asked.

"I'm a very good cook." he grinned proudly. "Okay, ready for mine?" he asked. I could tell he was a little nervous, but I have no idea why.

"Ask away." I smiled, reassuring him. I wish I knew why he felt he needed reassuring.

"My last question is… can I kiss you?" he asked bashfully. That's why he was so nervous. He's nervous I'm going to say no, or that I'm going to flip out. Either way I need to speak up and answer him. Now.

"Yes." I blurted out. But wait, he didn't specify where and I didn't tell him anywhere in particular. Now I'm a nervous wreck waiting for him to kiss me…

He began to lean forward, keeping his balance as he slides gently off the rock in my direction. In less than a minute our lips met. His lips were warm, soft and slightly moisturized. The kiss was absolutely phenomenal, and I felt like I'd gone to Heaven.


	4. Few Weeks Later

**Author's Note:** Okay, so this chapter is a tad short... but the next one should be long and at least relatively decent. :) I hope you guys like it. Review, review, review! (please)

**Chapter Four – Few Weeks Later**

**Kayla**

Over the next few weeks Jai and I hung out a lot, but I still spent quite a bit of time with my friends when they were off work. Sometimes Jai would come and hang out with me while I was hanging out with them. There were always times, alone or not, where we'd end up in time-stopping moments where I thought he'd kiss me again, but he never did. I was trying not to read too much into it, especially since even though he wouldn't kiss me again he still put his arms around me frequently. We also goofed around a lot. There was one day we all spent in the front yard with a very large tote filled with water balloons. It was truly a team effort to accumulate so many and they were so full I was afraid to even _touch_ one at one point. That was an amazing day. I managed to get the last balloon, and the rest of the group had sat down, so it was just me and Jai one-on-one. He chased me around the yard trying to take it from me. When he finally caught me, him trying to grab it caused the water balloon to break in my hands, soaking me. As revenge, I ran over to a small bucket that happened to have water in it and dumped it on him. In the end we both ended up soaking wet, but we had a blast.

Today we were going to the arcade. Keegan, Susanna, Eli and Mel had to work so it was just going to be Jai and myself. This time when he picked me up, I was already dressed and ready to go and he noticed it – but not in the way I thought he would.

"Wow." he said in surprise. "You look beautiful! Did you cut your hair?" I blushed. I was wearing a light purple, medium length sun dress and had my hair down. I had chosen to cut it the night before but instead of going to a salon I cut it myself. It was almost down to my waist, and I had cut it to fall barely past my shoulders. I nodded, answering his question. "It looks great!" he exclaimed.

"Thank you." I gleamed. I wasn't entirely sure why I felt so happy about his compliments, but I did have a hunch that it had something to do with my feelings towards him. I wasn't certain that I was falling for him, but I knew that what I was developing was much more than a crush for sure.

"Ready to go?" he asked softly.

"Whenever you are." I grinned and with that, we left. The entire drive there was silent, which was weird to me. Normally we were both very talkative in the car. I kind of had this odd-ball feeling something wasn't right. I hoped I was wrong, because usually when I'm right it's never a happy event.

When we got to the arcade, there were quite a number of people there. The first thing I noticed available for two people to play was the air hockey table. I pointed to it and looked at Jai, who was standing beside me, asking him if he wanted to play. He nodded and we walked over to it. We played over and over again for what seemed like a few hours. Sometimes he'd win and other times I'd win. Winning wasn't important to me, and it didn't seem important to him in this situation either. The important thing was that we were having fun. Together. When I first got to Australia, I never thought I'd get to hang out and spend part of my summer with Jai Courtney. It was very blissful, but all good things come to an end at some point, and I tried to remember that no matter how much fun we had. By the time we finally got done playing, two hours had passed and in that moment I was thankful the arcade had more than one air hockey table. I didn't want to get in trouble for being a table-hog.

After that we moved on to playing ski ball right beside one another. We'd celebrate by hugging each other when one of us made a high-point shot and every single time, my heart about flew out of my chest. I'm sure I probably should tell him how I feel, but instead I choose to bite my tongue and refrain. It's only a summer and then we'll be going our separate ways anyway, what's the point in me even opening my mouth? When we got tired of playing ski ball, we played a few more rounds of air hockey and then decided we'd go get something to eat. We talked the entire time between bites, chuckling at some of the silly things we noticed at the arcade, laughing at our own goofs as well and simply enjoying each other's company. I kept noticing that he was looking at me, but not in the usual way. It was almost like he'd look at me as if he wanted something more than just my friendship. _A relationship_? No, no. That's not possible. I must be out of my mind. We're just friends, nothing more.

_Nothing more, my ass_ I heard in my own head. _No. Nothing more. __**Nothing**__. We are only friends._ I thought back.

_Then why do you find yourself getting flushed or flustered when he looks at you? When he hugs you?_ I thought about it for a moment. Damn. That little voice was right. Dammit. No. No. I can't think about this. I have to pitch the thought from my mind. I _have_ to.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked. "You look like you're battling your own thoughts." how could he tell?

"Yeah, I'm fine." I lied, smiling to make it believable. Definitely couldn't have him catching on, especially considering it would probably scare him off anyway.

When we got back later that evening, he stopped me before I reached the door.

"Wait," he said. "I need to talk to you about something." the sincerity in his eyes was daunting. What could possibly be so serious unless he's got to leave sooner than intended.

"What's up?" I asked, playing cool.

"I wanted to, um. Ask you something." I watched him fumble with the words a little bit and it made me wonder what he could possibly be so nervous about.

"What is it, Jai?" I encouraged, curiosity in my eyes.

"Would you go out with me?" he asked. "On a date." he specified. My eyes gave way to the surprise I felt. Moments passed in silence, and then it hit me. Say something, Kayla. He's going to think you're shutting him down if you don't speak up. C'mon. Dammit Kayla. Say something. Anything. Perhaps a word beginning with Y. Come on.

"Yes." I pushed out of my mouth quickly.

"Really?" he grinned, a surprised look on his face.

"Yes." I returned the same grin. He leaned forward and put his arms around me, embracing me in a hug for what felt like the millionth time that day, not that I was complaining.

"Tomorrow evening, 7 o'clock?" he asked.

"That would be great." I replied, beaming. We released each other from the embrace and he started walking to the car. When he got in and pulled out of the drive way, I went inside.

"Hey," Susanna grinned at me from the kitchen sink. "How was your day?" she asked, washing one of the dishes I assumed was from dinner this evening.

"Great." I blushed. "I was asked on a date."

"By who?" she asked.

"Jai." I replied. She dropped the dish back into the sink with a loud clanging sound.

"No!" she looked at her in shock. I nodded. She shut off the water and ran towards me, almost tackling me with a hug. "Oh my gosh! This is so exciting! What are you gonna wear?"

"I have no idea." I replied with candor.

"Hang on!" Susanna bounced off to her room. A few minutes later she came out holding a pair of plain black dress pants and a cute red v-neck top. "Try this." I tried it on in my room and then came out. "That's _perfect_."


	5. The Date

**Chapter Five – The Date**

**Kayla**

"Hey man!" I heard coming from the front door.

"Hey Keegan! How are you?" I heard Jai's voice. I turned back to Susanna, who was helping me do my makeup. Once finished, she put my hair into a half up-do and curled the bottom half, the heat emanating from it warming my neck. Both of us were startled by a knock at the door.

"Don't open the door!" Susanna called out quickly. "Who is it?" she asked.

"It's me, Jai." the sound of his voice gave me butterflies.

"You _definitely_ can't come in." Susanna half-chuckled, making Jai let out a loud guffaw from the other side of the door.

"Is she going to be ready soon?" I heard Jai ask.

"Soon enough." Susanna replied. "After I finish what I'm doing she has to put her outfit on."

"If she's not dressed, what is she in right now?" he asked. I giggled, knowing that he was thinking I was probably sitting in here naked.

"Shorts and a button-down that I sneaky-snagged from Keegan!" I hollered in response.

"Dammit Kayla! What have I told you about sneaky-snagging?" I heard Keegan jokingly yell at me through the door, making Jai laugh harder than he was when I answered him.

"You'll forgive me, Keegan! You always do." I playfully yelled back.

"Dammit." he said after a moment or so, confirming to me that he didn't have a better comeback. I heard Jai laughing just as much as I was on the other side of the door. Susanna finished the last curl and grabbed the hair spray, covering every curl so they would stay. Once finished, she grabbed the clothes I planned to wear and she started helping me get ready to go.

"Let me go out first, and I'll tell you when to come out." she grinned. I nodded and she went out there. "You guys ready to see her?" I heard her ask. I didn't hear a response. "Okay Kayla, come on out!" she called to me. I slowly opened the door and stepped into view, my eyes locking on Jai. His jaw dropped when he met my gaze, and he looked me up and down. I ended up doing the same to him. He was in a button down, long-sleeved, collared shirt and a very nice looking pair of jeans. He looked dashingly handsome.

"Wow." he said, sounding as if someone knocked the wind out of him. "I didn't think it was possible for you to look any more beautiful than you already were, but you do." I flushed pink at the compliment, smiling at him.

"Thank you." I replied.

"Are you ready to go then?" he asked. I nodded, walking towards him as he turned for the door. "We'll see you guys later." Jai said, opening the door for me.

"Alright guys, have fun!" Susanna called to us from the kitchen. We got in the car, and as Jai was pulling out of the drive way, I turned to him.

"So, am I allowed to know where we're going?" I asked him.

"No." he replied simply. He glanced over for half a second and saw my questioned look. "It's a surprise." he grinned.

"Oh." I said. We sat in silence the rest of the way there. When he pulled into a parking lot, I realized we were going into the pizza parlor to the left, versus the small café to the right. I looked over at him with an impish grin on my face and he looked at me, returning my grin before we got out of the car. When we got inside, it looked very upscale.  
"What? No usual stomping grounds for pizza this time?" I couldn't resist giving him a playful body bump. He slid his arm around me with ease and grinned at me again, refusing to let me go. His smell, intoxicating, of leather and musk, with a very tiny hint of sweetness. I definitely didn't want him to let me go. I was enjoying this moment, hoping it would never end. I knew I shouldn't, because I knew it was only for the summer… but tonight I banned that thought from my mind and allowed myself to enjoy every second with him, no limitations.

"No, not this time." he answered. "This time is different." he explained.

"It _is_?" I feign surprise. "Why is that?" the grin on my face giving away to my playfulness.

"Because we are on a date." he grinned, playing along with me.

"Oh really?" I feign surprise again. "This," I gesture to the two of us and our table. "This is a date?" I ask.

"Yes," he looks at me in a whole other way. A way I've never seen him look at me before. "_This_ is a date."

"And how many dates are you expecting us to have in the future?" the words slip out of my mouth before I can stop myself from asking. Never had I ever asked him anything about the future between us. I never intended to, either. I think he could tell when I slipped my hand over my mouth immediately after the words came out.

"I hope," he paused, watching my eyes with his breath-taking blues. "At least one or two more before you make up your mind about me." he answered. I was a little surprised. I was definitely not expecting him to answer the question, even though I hadn't apologized and told him that the question wasn't intentional. Now I didn't have to.

"And what if I've made my mind up already?" I asked him. And I had. I'd made up my mind at that moment that as long as he wanted to go out with me, spend time with me, enjoy my company or however other ways you want to put it, that I was going to give them to him. It's what I want, to be with him; every moment that I possibly can. I can have that? I can have that.

"That could go either way then." he replied simply. He didn't need to specify. I knew exactly what he meant.

"Think of it as a good thing." I winked at him, hoping it would reassure him of my interest. It did. He smiled at me, relieved. How could I tell? The way he relaxed his shoulders and let them fall a little bit from where they originally were. That told me everything I needed to know in this moment.

We finished our dinner – talking, joking, laughing, picking on each other playfully and simply enjoying each other's company. We got out to the car and he pulled out of the parking lot – the opposite direction of home.

"We're not going back home yet?" I asked a little surprised.

"No, I still have one more place up my sleeve for us to go." he grinned at me. A few minutes later we pulled into the parking lot of a bar. The sign in front of the bar said "karaoke tonight" and I realized just what he had up his sleeve.

"Trying to get me to sing for you, are you?" I asked slyly as he opened the door for me. He revealed his Cheshire-cat like grin at me as we went inside. We picked one of the tables near the back of the room, and sat there. Immediately, I pulled the book over to me that contained all the songs.

"Find one you like?" his breath hot on my neck. I shook my head, it was easier than trying to yell my answer. "When you do, let me know. I'm gonna go up to the bar and order a drink, do you want anything?" he asked.

"Just water." I yelled, sure that he couldn't hear me. Thankfully he knew what I said though still because he walked off without having to ask me again. I'm guessing he read my lips when I said it. When he came back, he had beer in one hand, and my water in the other. When he set my water down by me, I looked up and thanked him.

"Still deciding on the song?" he whispered to my ear before taking a drink of his beer. I nodded. For fun, I decided to look at the Taylor Swift songs they had since I was feeling rather indecisive. Bingo. I found my song. "Sit down! I don't want you to know what song I pick." I told him. He did as I asked and I wrote my song down and took it up to the host. I came back to sit down and took a sip of my water. I didn't realize just how far out my hands were until I felt a warm hand touch mine. I didn't pull away, and neither did he. Instead, he put his hand on mine and I looked at him. We both shared smiles to one another, beginning to get lost in each other's eyes.

"Next up is Kayla with, 'don't announce my song because it's a surprise for my date,'" I heard chuckles from all sides of the room, including from Jai. Breaking contact, I got up and made my way toward the small stage that was set up. I took the microphone from the host and the song "Wildest Dreams" began playing.

_He said, "Let's get out of this town  
Drive out of the city, away from the growds."  
I thought heaven can't help me now  
Nothing lasts forever, but this is gonna take me down_

_He's so tall and handsome as hell  
He's so bad but he does it so well  
I can see the end as it begins  
My one condition is_

_Say you'll remember me standing in a nice dress,  
Staring at the sunset, babe  
Red lips and rosy cheeks  
Say you'll see me again  
Even if it's just in your wildest dreams, oh, ah  
Wildest dreams, oh, ah_

As I sang the words, I'd occasionally make eye contact with Jai and see him smile so very big.

_I said, "No one has to know what we do,"  
His hands are in my hair, his clothes are in my room  
And his voice is a familiar sound,  
Nothing lasts forever but this is getting good now_

_He's so tall and handsome as hell  
He's so bad but he does it so well  
And when we've had our very last kiss  
My last request is_

_Say you'll remember me standing in a nice dress,  
Staring at the sunset, babe  
Red lips and rosy cheeks  
Say you'll see me again  
Even if it's just in your wildest dreams, oh, ah  
Wildest dreams, oh, ah_

My eyes stayed on Jai for the next part of the song, never wavering.

_You see me in hindsight  
Tangled up with you all night  
Burning it down  
Someday when you leave me  
I bet these memories  
Follow you around_

_You see me in hindsight  
Tangled up with you all night  
Burning it down  
Someday when you leave me  
I bet these memories  
Follow you around_

_Say you'll remember me standing in a nice dress,  
Staring at the sunset, babe  
Red lips and rosy cheeks  
Say you'll see me again  
Even if it's just pretend_

I pause and then look away from Jai and out at the crowd.

_Say you'll remember me standing in a nice dress,  
Staring at the sunset, babe  
Red lips and rosy cheeks  
Say you'll see me again  
Even if it's just in your wildest dreams, oh, ah  
In your wildest dreams, oh, ah  
Even if it's just in your wildest dreams, oh, ah  
In your wildest dreams, oh, ah_

I wait silently, looking at the crowd. Everyone sits silent for a minute and then they all start applauding, hooting and hollering. I hear Jai from in the back yell "Yeah Kayla!" and cheer and flush deep pink as I hand the microphone back to the host.

"Sounds like you got a fan back there, Kayla." the host jokes before I get off the stage.

"Nah! He's my date." I grin, making him laugh.

"Well with a voice like yours, he's definitely a lucky guy to be your date." I was about to answer when I was interrupted.

"You're damn right I am!" I heard Jai from our table, causing everyone to chuckle – myself included.

"Once again, Kayla, everyone." the host repeated as I walked back to Jai. When I got near him, instead of letting me sit down he put his arms around me and we stood to watch the next singer. I felt his chest against my back and his face against mine. He felt so warm, despite it feeling a little cold in the bar to me. As the person on stage continued to sing, I laid my head back a little more until the back of my head rested on his shoulder. After a moment, I felt something on my neck that startled me a little and it caused me to jump. I realized afterwards that Jai still had me in his arms, and I had no reason to jump. I was safe, after all.

"What was that?" I asked him.

"I kissed your neck." he grinned, a little bashful. I snuggled back into him the way I had been before I jumped and remained silent. "You did amazing up there," his breath on my neck gave me goosebumps and made the hair stand up. "I figured you could sing, but – wow! You really took me by surprise." he said. I blushed and he gave me a small squeeze before loosening again, keeping his arms around me still.

We stayed for about two hours, and I got to sing a few more songs before we left. The entire way home he went on about how good of a voice I have. I commented that he should sing with me next time we go up there for karaoke and he grinned, giving me a "maybe" as a response. When we pulled into the driveway he opened the door for me like he usually does, and walked me up to the porch. We both turned to face one another, looking deeply into each other's eyes. This time, Jai was first to break the silence.

"I had a great time tonight," he smiled at me, our foreheads only inches from touching. "I really hope we can go out again sometime." he told me.

"Me too," I replied. "I really enjoyed it." I continued to look in his eyes, and he did the same. This was how we stood for a few moments before he tilted his head to one side a little and leaned forward. Helping to close the gap, I leaned and tilted my head the opposite way he had his and our lips met in a soft, but meaningful, kiss. The kiss lasted for what felt like a long time, before he pulled away and looked into my eyes again.

"Stay with me tonight?" he asked. "I know it sounds like I'm asking for more than-" he began fumbling his words. "I, I mean, uh-" I put my finger over his lips and smiled.

"Relax," I assured him. "I would love to stay with you tonight." and with that, we left and went back to his place. On the way there, I texted Susanna:

_**Staying with Jai tonight. We had a great date. He's amazing!**_

I hit send, and waited. A moment later, I felt my phone vibrate in my hand. I looked down to see her response:

_**Bow chicka wow, wow! Get it girrrrrrrrllllll! I'm glad you two had a good time! You guys are perfect for each other. Embrace it, enjoy it.**_

I grinned and shook my head at her before responding:

_**It's NOT that type of thing. And we're just friends who went out on a date, nothing more. Summer, remember?**_

I hit send and looked out at the night sky. The first big star I saw, I wished that it would be more than what I told Susanna. After making my wish, my phone went off:

_**It will be that type of thing if you two keep going! Summer is simply a season. You two are NOT!**_

I thought about it for a minute before typing out four little words:

_**I hope you're right.**_


	6. The First Time

**Author's Note:** I will let you know right now, writing this chapter was very difficult, as this kinda thing is SO not my forte. However, it is completed and the person who beta'd it for me said it was good... so here you go.

I own nothing... you know how this saying goes already. Enjoy!

**Chapter Six – The First Time**

**Kayla**

Over the next few weeks, Jai and I dated a few more times before he asked me to be his girlfriend. I said yes, and couldn't help but wonder what was ahead for us. Most of the nights that I would be home by myself I stayed over at Jai's. Things had picked up at work for Susanna and Keegan, so they were gone most of the time, and Eli and Mel were spending time with their significant others that they started dating recently. We still all spent time together when we could, Jai usually joining us for group events.

Usually when I stayed at Jai's we'd end up falling asleep cuddling. This morning when I got up, I was alone. I stared at the ceiling and exhaled, moving my arm over to his pillow. I brushed a papery object and leaned up to look over. I saw a note. It said:

_Good morning, beautiful. I am either out getting stuff for breakfast, or downstairs cooking. Come down and join me when you're ready or when I finish cooking I'll bring breakfast up to you._

_Hope you slept well, my dear._

_Jai  
P.S. Water fight later?_

I was about to get out of bed when I heard the door open. I looked up to see Jai coming in with a breakfast tray.

"Good morning," he smiled at me. "How did you sleep?" he asked, setting the tray in front of me.

"Not bad." I grinned back at him. "I got your note." I held up the piece of paper.

"Well breakfast is served, so eat up babe." I picked up the fork and stared at the plate. He made scrambled eggs, waffles and mixed fruit consisting of cut up strawberries, raspberries and oranges. I stuck one of the orange pieces and put it in my mouth.

"Mmm, yummy." I chewed the orange, swallowed, and then leaned forward and kissed Jai. "_Mmm, yummy_." I said in a slightly higher tone than I did the first time.

"Mmm, yourself." he grinned, moving the tray onto the dresser before hopping over me to lie next to me in bed. I turned to him and we started kissing more. He slid his hand from my thigh slowly to my waist, underneath my shirt. We had a brief discussion about boundaries on one of our dates, and so far he'd been very good about honoring them, even now. He slid his hand up a little farther, and my body language changed. As soon as he saw me react, he pulled away.  
"I'm sorry." he said quickly. "I went too far. I'm really sorry."

"It's not that you went too far, baby." I put my hand on his cheek and met his eyes with mine. "You just caught me off guard and it startled me." he put his arms around me and kissed me. Normally a couple in a situation like this would probably be mushy and say they love each other, but we haven't reached that point yet. Instead, we meet each other's eyes and smile.

After breakfast, we went downstairs and watched a few movies together before he took my hand and led me out into the backyard. Once out there, I saw a number of small totes filled with water balloons. As I continued to scan the yard, I also noticed small buckets of water placed between each tote of water balloons. I looked to the middle of the yard and saw two very large totes of water sitting side by side and a line of spray chalk down the middle of the yard from one end to the other length wise and width wise.

"What's this?" I asked, the curiosity evident on my face.

"Did you not read the P.S. in my note?" he asked me. _Oh_, I thought.

"This is the water fight?" I gestured to the yard. "What are the rules?"

"The rules are very simple," he grinned at me. "There are none. You ready?" I nodded and we went to the fences opposite of one another. "Ready? Set? GO!" he yelled and we both started running – me to the closest tote of water balloons and him to the closest bucket of water. He picked it up and started walking towards me, not even a slight struggle to be seen with the bucket. I hurled water balloons at him as he made his way over to me and poured the bucket of cold water on me. I screamed and glared at him as he laughed at me.

"You are _so_ gonna get it!" I pelted more water balloons at him and he retreated to another bucket on his side, throwing water balloons back at me. After 4 totes of water balloons, 4 buckets of water and 2 totes of water we were looking for unbroken water balloons. I found one, and coincidentally he did too. Hitting me like a target, the water balloon that was in his grasp was now broken all over me. This left me with the only water balloon left.  
"Ha, ha, ha, ha!" I teased. "I have the last one now." I watched him begin to run toward me and I quickly turned my back to him and guarded the water balloon like I was guarding a football in my hand. He embraces me, my back against his chest, trying to get the water balloon. Unable to keep the water balloon as safe as I'd hoped, it broke, the water soaking us both. "You got so lucky there!" I laughed, looking up at him.

Our eyes met and locked onto one another. He leans forward, toward me, and stops after an inch or two. Caught in the moment, I leaned the rest of the way and met his lips with mine. His kiss was soft, but caring and passionate. I slid my arms around his neck and felt his hands slide around my waist, our kiss becoming much more intense. I broke the kiss and trailed my lips from his, along his cheek and to his neck. I heard him moan into my ear as he slid his hands down the back of my waist and down to my ass, stopping just below it. He grasped on, lifting me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist and we resumed kissing as he started walking us back inside.

"Where am I carrying you?" he broke the kiss to ask me; his breathing heavy.

"Bedroom," I respond without even thinking, and move to kiss him again, but again he pulls away.

"Wait a minute," his gorgeous blue eyes met mine and I could see the questions swimming inside them. "Are you sure?" he asked. I nodded.

"I'm sure, baby. I'm definitely sure." I reassured him. It appeared to be enough for him, since he pulled me to him and began to kiss me again, carrying me to the bedroom. He carefully put me on the bed and slid his hands down my body to the hem of my shirt. He grabbed it, watching my eyes. I nodded, giving him the go ahead and he pulled my shirt up and over my head, throwing it on the floor. I put my hands on his chest as he stood in front of me and I stood up. Slowly, I ran my hands down his chest and abs to the hem of his shirt, doing the same to him that he did to me. He embraced me, his bare skin warm against mine. I let out a soft moan as he moved from my lips to kissing my neck. It felt so amazing, I didn't notice he'd taken off my bra until I saw him pull it away from my body and toss it on the floor. He kissed my lips, then started trailing kisses from my neck to my shoulder and down the front of my body. I was so turned on, I couldn't control my hips to keep them from bucking up at him. He placed his warm hand over my belly button and gave me a loving look.

"Down girl," he showed me a playful grin. I let out a giggle, flushing a little bit and he resumed from my belly button down to where my pants began. He looked up at me again as he rested his hands where my pants button at, his eyes seeking permission. Most women would probably find his constant search for consent irritating, but not me. I find it sexy that he cares enough about me to make certain I am okay with the boundaries we are breaking together and even though he doesn't know it, it makes me love him more. I nodded and he kissed my belly button again before unbuttoning my pants. I lifted my butt an inch as he moved to pull my pants off, throwing them on the floor. He moves off and stands in front of me, his blazing blue eyes meeting mine as he slowly begins to unbutton his own pants and slides them down his legs. After kicking them away he climbed back onto the bed and hovered over me, initiating another kiss. My hands found his back, and I felt the protruding muscles as I ran my nails from his shoulder blades to the middle of his back with just enough pressure to stimulate arousal. I ran my hands down and back up, hearing a very low growl-like moan release from Jai's lips. I didn't have to look down and see to know he was turned on because I felt the bulge restrained by his briefs against my leg. Boldly, I slid my hand down to his briefs, tracing one finger along the waistband and his skin before I slid my hand farther south and cupped his swelling member over his boxers. I heard him release a surprised exhale as he broke the kiss to look at me.  
"You little troublemaker, you." he grinned at me. I returned the grin and giggled. Sliding his hands along my midsection, he stopped at the waistband of my underwear and looked at me curiously. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, concerned.

"Yes Jai, I'm sure. I've never been so sure a day in my life." I planted another one of many kisses on his lips and lifted my butt up again so he could slide them off. "Just do me a favor," I paused.

"Anything." he breathed back to me.

"Be gentle and go easy on me." I requested. He gave me a questioning look. "It's my first time." I saw his jaw drop as the words left my mouth and suddenly felt like the least attractive person in the world.

"You're kidding?" he asked in disbelief. I shook my head, scared out of my mind. It must have been clear that I was so frightened though because he put his hand on my cheek and smiled at me before leaning forward to plant a kiss on my lips.  
"I will _definitely_ tend to you with the utmost care." he grinned at me. I returned his grin and he gently pushed me back, trying to get me to lie down. "Now lie back and let me take care of you and make this as perfect as I can." he had so much care and consideration in his eyes that it made my heart swell. I trusted him so much to begin with, and now this made me trust him more. My mind was quickly snapped out of my thoughts when I felt his tongue on my clit. I moved to stop him, but was overcome by such a wonderful sensation. The feeling of him down there was absolutely indescribable to the point that I could not stop myself from releasing a medium volume moan, making him let out a small chuckle onto me – causing me to involuntarily shake a little. I blushed as he looked back up at me, continuing to massage my clit with his tongue. He grinned at me, which only made me blush more. As I continued to enjoy the wonderful feelings he was encouraging out of me, I felt his hand on my knee and slide up my thigh before reaching my sex. Gently, I felt him slide a finger along the wetness, using it as lubrication before sliding the finger in – causing me to gasp in pleasure and surprise. I couldn't believe how amazing it felt, but at the same time I felt a little awkward for the sounds coming out of me as I enjoyed what was going on. I tried to brush the awkward feeling away, but before I could he caught on.  
"Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?" he asked nervously, moving his hands and face away from me.

"I'm alright." I lied a little. Since when did he get so good at reading me?

"No you're not." He moved over to me, putting his arms around me. "What's wrong babe?" he asked, his eyes meeting mine for a quick second before I look away. "Are you nervous? Do you want to stop?" he asked. I couldn't hear a cinch of selfishness in his voice at all, which was a surprise considering every guy I dated in the past got selfish and pissed off when I refused to give it up.

"I'm not nervous." I reply, thankful when he accepts my answer after a moment. He must have been able to tell that I was being honest.

"What is it honey? You can tell me." he put his hand on my face, sliding his thumb up and down my cheek. I took a breath, choosing to tell the truth and allow myself to open up to him.

"You weren't doing anything wrong," I said, hoping it would make him feel better. "It felt amazing, I just felt a little awkward at my reactions." I flushed pink and looked down at the mattress and my naked legs, reminding myself that neither of us had clothes on. He let out a light chuckle and smiled at me.

"Baby, you're _supposed_ to react that way." He planted a light kiss on my lips. "There is nothing wrong with the way you felt or the responses you had to me going down on you." I blushed at his words. He was so specific, without fear or embarrassment. He just seemed so brave. So _dauntless_.  
"We can stop though, if you want." he added. I shook my head. "You want to keep going?" he asked. I nodded. He leaned forward and kissed me deeply before pulling away.  
"Just lie back, relax and enjoy it babe." he must have been able to tell I was still a little nervous. "Trust me." he reassured me with a small smile on his face. I did as he asked me and he moved so he was between my legs and leaned himself over me, using his left arm to support himself as he stroked the side of my face with his right before kissing me on the lips. He trailed kisses from my lips down to my chest, pausing for a moment before advancing down my body. When he reached my entrance, he resumed exploring me with his tongue. It wasn't long before I began feeling a tingling sensation through my entire body, and moans kept escaping my mouth periodically and involuntarily. With the tingling sensation came a pulsating feeling, and my legs were beginning to quiver – me with no power to control them at all whatsoever. My muscles tightened, and in one very loud moan I felt myself release entirely. It was ecstasy; a feeling I'd never experienced before but never wanted to go without again.  
"Feel better?" he asked, positioning his body right beside mine. I couldn't even speak, so I just nodded and grinned. "I knew you would." he grinned back. Once I regained control of my speech, I spoke.

"That was just, wow." I finally said. His grin got bigger at my words, but was disrupted by my leaning forward and planting a kiss on his lips. I lingered for a minute and kissed him again, repeatedly. I hoped that it would get the message through – that I wasn't ready to stop, put clothes on and go on with the day. No. I wanted to make him feel the way he made me feel. I wanted to experience that with him.

"Again already?" he beamed, looking at me with surprise. He must not have thought I'd be ready to do anything again that fast. I nodded and kissed him again. "Alright then," he leaned part of his body over mine as I lied onto my back again. He slid his hand down my body before reaching my folds, and slid a finger into me. As he moved it in and out, I couldn't help but focus on that, making my kisses become lazy. As he continued to finger me he moved his lips to my neck, nibbling, kissing and sucking it softly. I felt my wetness increase, and he pulled his finger out of me. He moved himself so that he was between my legs again and held his penis in one hand, using the other to steady himself as he hovered over me. He looked deeply into my eyes as he stroked himself a little before putting on a condom. He rubbed the tip of his penis against my wetness and focused his eyes back to my face.  
"I'll be gentle, I promise." he said softly. "But it may still hurt a little bit at first. Are you ready?" he asked. I nodded and he carefully moved himself into me. I could tell he was trying to be as gentle as he could and while it did feel a little painful, the pleasure was overpowering the pain. Once he was completely in he began moving himself inside of me, the pain fading away completely and being replaced by complete pleasure. I let a moan escape my lips with ease, and he kissed me softly.  
"Are you okay?" he asked. I could tell he was worried about hurting me, and I, once again, caught a glimpse of just how much he cares for me. I nodded, smiling. He focused back on moving himself in and out again and again, but he picked up his pace a little bit.

"Faster…" I have no idea who that voice was. It sounded like it came from me, but it definitely didn't feel like it. I felt too good to speak. He nodded, acknowledging my voice and sped up. "Oh my God." I called out in pleasure. I couldn't believe how wonderful of a feeling this was. I put my hands on his back and ran my fingers down, my nails scraping his skin just enough to cause a mix of pain and pleasure. I heard a moan escape his lips as he continued to fuck me.

"I'm close." he whispered in my ear. His words and movements sent mine in motion and I felt my muscles tighten around him, making him moan louder. "Fuck." he uttered while moaning as we both orgasm simultaneously. He continued to move, giving us both pleasure as we rode out the orgasm before crashing onto the bed beside me. I was out of breath, couldn't even move my body nor speak at that point. I saw him sit for a moment, before leaning over the bed. I heard a rustling and thud and assumed he was throwing the condom into the trash can. He laid beside me, his warm skin against mine. Pulling the blanket at the bottom of the bed over us, he positioned himself a little so that he was spooning me and we both dozed off.


	7. The Bad News

**A/N: **To see sneak peeks of future chapters, find me on Instagram ( tiggermom023) and/or Twitter ( tigger_mom023). I DO like to respond to people, so don't be afraid to say hi either!

Please remember: I **DO NOT** own Jai Courtney nor the song Angel With A Shotgun. The song is owned by the band, The Cab. If you've never heard it, check it out. I absolutely adore that song right now and listen to it probably about 5 to 10 times a day.

I will have a new Eric/Tris song fic series up soon as well. It is going to be called The Love &amp; Heartbreak Series. It will consist mostly of song fics, but will also include little tidbits in between for chapters to give you more details. So definitely keep an eye out for that!

Lastly, in case you were worried, this chapter is nowhere **near** the end for this fic! I still have plenty of things planned up my sleeve for these two. ;)

Enjoy! xo

**Chapter Seven – The Bad News**

**Kayla**

Summer was only two weeks from ending, and I knew Jai and I would have to say our goodbyes soon. It saddened me because we never talked about what we would do after summer was over and he went back to work while I went back to the States. We had fun though. We had sex quite often, and I even returned the favor to him from the first night once. I still couldn't believe that my boyfriend was Jai Courtney, let alone that I was having sex with him. This man was like a God to me before I came to Australia, and now he's my boyfriend and the guy I lost my virginity to. Susanna dropped me off at his place after she had made plans with her guy, and as I walked in he was on the phone. He looked at me and mouthed 'sorry' as he held up one finger, gesturing to me to hang on for a minute as he finished his phone call. After he got off the phone, I stood up and we walked to one another, meeting halfway in between where we previously stood. He kissed my lips softly and embraced me in a hug.

"How are you, love?" he asked. I had a feeling something wasn't right, but I didn't change the subject.

"I'm good, how are you?" I asked.

"I'm okay. Dinner is almost finished, but why don't we go sit down? I need to talk to you about something." he looked so sincere, almost sorrowful. I knew something was definitely wrong, wrong enough to upset him a great deal. He sat on the end of the couch.

"What's going on?" I asked as I sat on the couch beside him. He put his arm around me and looked at me. I could see the pain in his eyes, and I wondered what was causing it.

"I just got off the phone with my agent, and she said that I have to leave for the next movie earlier than we had originally planned." I felt a weight on my heart that I'd never felt before. Taking a deep breath, I asked another question that I thought would have a heartbreaking answer.

"How much earlier?" I asked. As the words left my lips, I saw the pain in his eyes get stronger.

"Friday." he said simply. Today was Wednesday. I felt nauseous as the news hit me harder. My boyfriend had to leave, and I didn't know if we were even going to stay together.

"That's in two days." I pointed out the obvious. He must have noticed the fear in my eyes.

"This isn't going to change anything with us," I heard the sincerity in his voice. "I don't want us to break up. If I wanted a summer fling, I wouldn't have asked you to be my girlfriend in the first place." he confessed. Tears began welling up in my eyes, but I fought them away as hard as I could. He must have noticed them though because he put his arms around me and held me. As soon as my head hit his chest I lost control and started crying hard. "It's gonna be okay baby, I promise you we will get through this." he whispered as he held me.

We stood there for what felt like a few hours as I cried, before I was so tired from crying I couldn't even stay awake anymore. When I woke up, I turned over to see him lying next to me, looking at me lovingly.

"Hi, you." he said quietly.

"Hi." I replied. "What time is it?" I asked.

"Two in the morning." he replied. "Want me to turn on a light or do you want to go back to sleep?" he asked.

"A light would be nice, please." I said. I heard him move and then a click, and then there was light in the room. "I'm really gonna miss you." I blurted out. He looked into my eyes and I felt my heart break all over again.

"I'm gonna miss you too, sweetheart. But I really think we can get through this," he sounded so confident. "When I have time off I can come see you, and when you have time off I can fly you out to wherever I'm at." he explained.

"You know," I paused, breaking eye contact with him to stare at the bed sheet. "We haven't really talked about where this is going." I looked back up at him after I finished my words.

"Well, let's talk about it then." he sat up and took one of my hands to help me sit up too.

"I'm scared I'm just going to be something that holds you back." I felt bad for saying it, but it was the truth.

"Don't think of it that way." he said simply. "You're who I want to be with. If that means I need to take time away or not take a new movie then so be it." he looked into my eyes as he spoke.

"You'd do that for me?" I asked, surprised.

"I'd do that for _us_, and for you." he smiled at me. I leaned forward and kissed him. It hit me that now would be the perfect time to confess that I love him and I open my mouth to say something, but out of fear I stop myself. "What babe?" he noticed the face I made.

"I was about to say something, but lost my train of thought." I lied. Of course I was going to lie. It was far too soon to be saying those words and I didn't want him to know I'd even thought about saying them yet. He chuckled at me and put his arm around me. I snuggled into him and laid my head on his chest. We sat and talked for a few hours before both of us dozed off.

When I woke up 6 hours later, I smelled something very sweet. I got up and wandered my way to the kitchen, following the aroma. When I got there I saw Jai singing and dancing to a song playing on his laptop, which was sitting on the counter away from where he was cooking at.

_If love's a fight then I shall die  
with my heart on the trigger_

_They say before you start a war,  
you better know what you're fighting for.  
Well baby, you are all that I adore,  
if love is what you need, a soldier I will be._

_I'm an angel with a shotgun,  
fighting 'til the war's won,  
I don't care if heaven won't take me back.  
I'll throw away my faith, babe, just to keep you safe.  
Don't you know you're everything I have  
and I, wanna live, not just survive, tonight._

I couldn't contain my giggles anymore, seeing him this way was beyond cute. He must have heard my giggles over the blaring music though, because he whipped around to see me.

"Hi," he grinned nervously.

"Hi," I smiled back. "You look like a deer caught in headlights." I pointed out, giggling a little.

"I thought you were asleep." he replied, his facial expression like a child who just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I giggled a little harder.

"So _this_ is what you do when I'm not around?" I asked, highly amused.

"Maybe." I couldn't help but crack up laughing when he grinned at me like a Cheshire cat.

"You are a trip," I pointed out. "What's for breakfast?" I walked over by the stove and saw three pans going at once. In the first pan, I saw French toast; the second had bacon and the third had sausage links. I inhaled the wonderful aroma and closed my eyes as I exhaled.  
"It smells amazing in here." I opened my eyes to look at him. He smiled proudly and planted a kiss on my lips.

"I enjoy cooking for you." he told me.

"And you are wonderful at it." I complimented him. He planted another kiss on my lips and resumed cooking.

"You go sit down, I'm going to finish up cooking and then I'll make you a plate." he said, stepping over to the laptop to close it. After he finished cooking, he grabbed a plate out of the microwave that had a stack of pancakes on it and put it on the counter near the stove. I watch him grab two plates out of the cabinet and set one of them on the countertop. He began putting a little bit of each food item onto the plate before bringing it over to me. I thanked him with a smile, and waited for him to make his plate and come sit with me. When he sat down, I leaned over and kissed him before we both started to enjoy the breakfast he had cooked.

"This is _amazing_!" I exclaimed. "How did you get so good at this?" I asked. "If I ever tried to make pancakes I'd end up over-cooking or burning at least one side."

"Lots and lots of practice." he grinned proudly before putting a bite of French toast into his mouth.

"Well I love how you have perfected your practice." I think that was the first time either of us ever used 'love' in reference towards anything involving either of us… and I felt like it was perfect. He didn't seem to mind it either, as he looked at me with the most loving look I'd ever seen.

"It's not perfect _yet_, but thank you." he smiled at me. "So, what do you want to do today?" he asked. It took me some time to think about it. I knew there was a number of things we could do: go to the arcade, go see a movie, walk on the beach, have a water fight, go to the aquarium and a dozen other things. But I just wanted one on one time with my boyfriend. He was leaving this place in less than 48 hours, and I was staying here. The thought moved to the front of my mind and I felt like my heart was sinking into my stomach. Jai's voice brought me out of my thoughts about as fast as my mind had gotten me into them.  
"Baby, are you okay?" he asked, the worry clear on his face.

"I'm alright." I lied. I didn't want to tell him that knowing he was leaving and I wouldn't see him for who knows how long was tearing me apart. I didn't want to tell him that knowing I was going to be so very far away from him made me want to curl up into a ball and cry like a child. I didn't want this to be the moment that I told him I was head over heels in love with him and that was what was causing me to feel this way. No, no I don't. Do I? Yes. Yes, indeed I do love him. What a revelation to have less than 48 hours before the love of your life leaves for months in a row. Dammit. And all this time I was so introverted I didn't realize that he could read right through me and the look on my face.

"No you're not," he told me. I heard his words and couldn't respond before he spoke again. "You're thinking about Friday." he pointed out blatantly. I sighed in defeat and held back my tears. I didn't want to ruin breakfast.

"Why don't we finish breakfast and then we can talk about where my head's at, okay?" I asked, hoping it was a good enough compromise. He nodded and we both continued to eat. When we were done, he picked up the plates and put them in the sink, turning on the water. I stood up to come help him, but he told me to go sit down on the couch in the living room so we could talk while he rinsed off plates and loaded the dishwasher. Doing as asked, I sat down on the couch and waited for him to sit down next to me.

"What's on your mind?" he asked me, "And be honest." I couldn't figure out where to start. What was I going to tell him?  
_I'm gonna miss you more than you know_.  
No, I can't tell him that. He'll think I'm crazy.  
_No he won't._  
Yes he will.  
Why am I arguing with myself? I need to stop it.

"I'm not looking forward to Friday." I blurted out, unable to think of what I _really_ wanted to say. Or maybe I just didn't want to say what I really should have said. I don't know.

"I'm not either," I felt his hand slide on top of mine, which was resting on my leg just above my knee. "I really don't want to leave you." he put his hand on my face and gently turned my head 'til my eyes met his. I could see so many emotions in him simply from looking into his eyes and realized that was all I needed to confess my feelings.

"I think I'm falling for you," the words left my mouth so fast I couldn't stop them. I wasn't sure I wanted to though, either. "The thought of us being separated for long periods of time tears me up and makes my heart try to make a new home for itself in my stomach." I told him. Who in the hell was this girl talking with my voice? It sure didn't seem like me. I think I had a 'deer in the headlights' look on my face. I definitely felt like I did, anyway. It went away when I felt his soft lips on mine, though. Everything went away when I felt it. I was happy.

"We _will_ make this work. Wanna know how I know?" he asked.

"How?"

"Because I feel the same way about you that you do about me." he smiled at me. I kissed him this time. I know I should probably tell him that I love him since it's the perfect time, but I don't want to ruin this moment. I'd rather leave it at 'I'm falling for you' and hold off on professing my love for him.

I spent the rest of the evening in his arms on the couch. We watched a few movies together – one of them being a chick flick that had me crying because it hit so close to home with him leaving in just over a day now. He held me close and let me cry, reassuring me the entire time that we would be okay and we could get through it. It was killing me to know that I was going to have to figure out a way to be without him after falling so hard.  
What in the hell was the matter with me? Before I met him the day he saved my life at the beach, I never knew this man and didn't even feel like I needed to be _near_ him. Why did this change so fast? Why did I, all of a sudden, feel like I would be miserable without him?  
_Its love, you idiot_._ You're in love with him.  
_I looked over at him, watching him as he watched the movie for a moment. As I watched him, it hit me that the little voice in my head was right. I hadn't fallen for him. I was in love with him. Sonuvabitch… I'll be damned.


	8. The Surprise

**Author's Note**:Thank you so many of you for reviewing and keeping up with this fic! I love that you all love it so much!

Thank you Torry-Riddle for always helping me when I get stalled out.

Thank you Milena for being my beta for this chapter, and also for helping me when I get stalled out!

All of you who love this story and keep up with it are amazing! This is still nowhere near the end for Jai and Kayla, so definitely keep on reading!

**Chapter Eight – The Surprise**

**Kayla**

Before we knew it, the dreaded day was here – Friday. The day my love had to leave me to go onto a movie set and work for months, and we had to keep in touch via Skype, phone calls and text messages. I'd been a crying mess the last two days, spending every second I could with Jai consoling me every time I lost it. Of course, the more he consoled me the more I remembered that he was leaving. This would make me break down all over again – go figure. I walked with Jai through the airport and we sat down, waiting for Keegan, Susanna, Eli and Mel to get there. When I saw the four of them, I hugged Susanna tight.

"Hey you." I offered a small smile to her, trying to keep myself from crying.

"Hey, how are you?" she asked me in a concerned tone.

"I'm okay… can I talk to you about something, away from them?" I motioned to Keegan, Eli, Mel and Jai. She nodded and we stepped away from them. When I thought we were ample distance away from them, I gave her a look that said it all. My face showed her how I was feeling and as she embraced me in another hug I completely lost control of my emotions, breaking down and bawling like a baby on her shoulder. I felt her move, still hugging me, and within a few minutes I felt a different warmth. Not opening my eyes I continued to cry my eyes out, and when I took a breath, I breathed in the wonderful scent that told me it was Jai who had embraced me now.

"Shhh," he soothed, his hand over part of my head that had not been against his chest as I cried. "It's gonna be okay. I promise you babe, it'll be okay." his voice was so calming as he continued to repeat the same things a few times, like it was my own personal lullaby. "Baby, please don't cry." he pleaded.

"I can't help it," I replied in tears. "I'm gonna miss you." I told him.

"No you're not." he said as if he was trying to hold back an emotion of some kind. I moved my head from his chest and gave him a quizzical look. I wasn't certain, but it almost looked as if he was trying to fight off a smile.

"What do you mean?" I asked flatly. I looked from him to Susanna, who was grinning, and then back to Jai, who also started to let his grin show. "Okay, someone tell me what is going on?" I waited for someone to give me a damn good explanation as to why they thought I wasn't going to miss my boyfriend. Without speaking, Keegan, Eli and Mel all walked over and Keegan handed something to Susanna, who turned and handed it to me. I looked at it. It was a plane ticket.

"This is why," Susanna said to me, her grin unwavering.

"What is going on?" I looked directly at Jai.

"While you were sleeping after crying on my shoulder Wednesday night, I called Susanna and we made arrangements for you to spend your last two weeks with me on set." I saw the excitement on his face as he spoke. I looked from him to Susanna.

"So then I'm-" I paused, unable to finish my sentence because I was trying to put it together in my head.

"You're spending the last two weeks of your vacation with your boyfriend on the set of the new movie he's filming in Charleston, South Carolina." Susanna said for me. I stared at her in disbelief. "Surprise!" she grinned at me.

"But don't I have to go get my stuff?" I asked. Susanna shook her head.

"I checked your stuff in when we got here, I'm good friends with one of the ladies working today." I couldn't believe they had pulled this off without my knowledge. I turned to Jai.

"But all that stuff you said about you were going to miss me and-" I trailed off and he chuckled.

"Baby, I'm an actor for a reason," he paused. "I knew the plan the entire time, so I just had to get you believing that this was happening and you weren't coming with me. Until today, anyways." I stood there in amazement.

"You two still need to go through security and get to where you need to be, so give us hugs." Susanna directed to us. I hugged her tight and whispered that I loved her, and she told me she loved me as well. I hugged Keegan, Eli and Mel, and Jai took my hand leading me towards security.

When our flight was called, we boarded the plane. Luckily, we were able to sit together, and after I sat down, Jai handed me my MP3 player and headphones.

"How did you get my MP3 player?" I asked.

"Susanna took it out of your bag before getting it checked when she brought it and handed it to me while you were hugging Keegan, Eli and Mel." he grinned proudly, like he'd managed to surprise me again. "She told me you don't fly well."

"I handle being in the air just fine," I explained. "It's the takeoff and landing that I have issues with." I only put one headphone in my ear so I could hear him and my music at the same time.

"Well if you get scared, hold onto me. I'll protect you." he said. I grinned at him and leaned to plant a kiss softly, but lovingly, onto his lips.

"Aw! How cute! You two look like a very strong couple!" I heard a woman's voice. I turned and saw a woman who looked to be in her mid-forties smiling at us.

"Thank you." we both replied simultaneously before I laid my head on his shoulder. He turned his head and kissed my forehead.

"I'm falling for you, too." I barely heard him say.

"What?" I lifted my head from his shoulder and looked at him, unsure I heard him right.

"I said, I'm falling for you too." he looked into my eyes. "I know I didn't exactly say it the other night, but I wanted to tell you in case you were unsure," he paused. "I'm falling for you, too." he repeated himself. I had no words at that moment, so I just grinned at him as the tears welled up in my eyes. He leaned over and kissed me. After that, I took my headphones and MP3 player and put them away. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I don't need them. Not this time." I told him. "I have something better than music to keep me relaxed." I added, looking into his gorgeous blue eyes. When he smiled, I could have sworn I saw a twinkle in one of them. I laid my head on his shoulder again, falling asleep before we even took off.

"Kayla," I heard his sweet voice, bringing me out of dream land.

"Hm?" I replied, not wanting to open my eyes. I wiggled my head against his shoulder, not wanting to get up.

"Honey we're here," he said. "The flight landed, you need to get up so we can get off the plane."

"Huh?" I popped my head up and pushed my eyes open wide at his words. He chuckled at me before speaking again.

"Calm down," he soothed. "We just landed. You slept through the entire flight." I could see the surprised look on his face. I'd never slept as well as I did on his arm on the way here. Ever. So, while he had a surprised look, I was far more shocked.

"I slept the _entire_ time?" I asked in amazement. He nodded. "What did you do?" I asked, feeling a little guilty. He held up his phone and I saw that the battery was low.

"I played games on my phone the whole way." I saw his grin and let out a light giggle before we stood up to get off the plane. When we arrived, Jai grabbed our bags – Susanna apparently had already told him what my bag looked like as well, because he was able to grab mine for me with ease.

"I can carry my bag, babe." I told him. He shook his head at me and I gave him a 'what do you mean' look.

"I'm the big, strong, man. It's _my_ job to carry the bags." He said to me as we kept walking. We got near the doors that lead out of the airport, and saw a man standing between the doors and the escalator we were getting off. He was holding a white dry-erase board that said 'Kayla Stone' on it – my name. I gave Jai the same look I gave him when he mentioned it was his job to carry the bags and he chuckled.  
"Your name on the board would draw less attention than mine. First, middle or last." he explained. I nodded, understanding. The man offered to take the bags from Jai and he refused politely, telling the man to simply open the trunk when we got to the car. I grinned. My boyfriend – Jai Courtney – was still a down-to-earth type guy despite being in the movie industry. I couldn't believe this was my life. It was amazing to me.

The driver moved to open the door for me, but Jai stopped him. Instead, _Jai_ opened the door for me as the driver got into the car. I watched as Jai closed the door and moved to the other side of the car, getting in beside me. Once situated, we were off to the hotel we were staying in. After a thirty minute drive, we reached a cute two-story cottage out in the middle of the country. The driver pulled into the drive way, next to a slate gray Audi Q5, and shut off the car.

"What are we doing here?" I asked. Jai grinned at me and it clicked. Another surprise.

"This is where we're staying." he said to me as he got the bags out of the trunk and the driver unlocked the front door for us. We made our way inside and the driver gave Jai the keys. They talked for a few before the driver left and Jai started carrying our bags upstairs to the master bedroom.

"Jai, let me carry something before you hurt yourself." I pleaded, eager to be of some use.

"Not a chance. I can carry them sweetheart." I heard his voice cascade through the hall as he walked upstairs with me right behind him. When we reached the bedroom, I noticed it was fully furnished. I was surprised. I couldn't believe how nice it looked, too. It was wonderful.

"This place is amazing." I told Jai. He grinned at me in return.

"Start unpacking, baby. We're going to be here awhile." he encouraged. It hit me then that I was going to be here with him for two weeks, and I realized I'd never spent that much time with any boyfriends.  
"Babe? What's wrong?" I saw him sit down on the bed with a concerned expression. He must have seen me deep in thought.

"Uh- I just realized that I've never spent 2 whole weeks with anyone I've been in a relationship with." I confessed. "Actually," I corrected myself. "I've never spent a full 2 weeks with _any_ man I wasn't related to." I told him. He got up and walked over to me, taking my hands in his. I met his gaze with one of my own as I waited to see what he'd say to me.

"This is going to be great," he encouraged. "I promise. There's no need to be nervous." I had no idea how he could tell I was nervous, but he was spot on. I was definitely nervous. _Very_ nervous.  
"Go ahead and get your things unpacked." he smiled at me sweetly. "There's plenty of room for both of us to have our stuff in here." he walked over to his bag and started taking things out after opening it. I did the same, and it wasn't long before the both of us were done.

"I'm gonna take a walk through the house," I told him as I stopped in the doorway of the bedroom. "Wanna come with me?" I asked.

"Sure," he smiled. "Let's take a tour of this cute little cottage of ours." he took my hand and we walked through each of the other three rooms that were upstairs. One was a guest bedroom, the second a computer room – with two Alienware desktop computers set up, and the third was a workout room with a balcony that showed the small pond in the backyard and the many acres of field behind that. It was beautiful and serene being out in the middle of nowhere at this little cottage. Every room in the house was fully furnished and it all worked perfectly with the house. It was amazing. When we made our way downstairs and through the living room, we saw the kitchen, dining room, a second and smaller living room, and a screened in room connecting to the backyard. We stood on the concrete of the screened in room for a few moments, taking in the beautiful view of trees lined with Spanish moss, and mountains farther into the distance. This house was absolutely gorgeous. After the tour, we sat down on the couch in the living room and I heard my stomach growl.  
"Why don't we go out for dinner, and then we can go grocery shopping?" he asked, acknowledging that my body told him I was hungry. As I was about to answer, I heard his do the same and I giggled.

"That sounds good to me." I replied. "Let me get changed first though, okay?" I stood up and headed towards our room. He must have thought it was a good idea because he followed me up the stairs. I grabbed a cute shirt and jean shorts before making my way to the bathroom to change. After I finished, I brushed my teeth and came out of the bathroom. When I came out, Jai was in a pair of khaki shorts and a blue striped t-shirt. He slid past me and went into the bathroom. I heard the water turn on and then heard him brushing his teeth. He planted a wonderful mint tasting kiss on my lips as he walked past me, heading downstairs.

We got into the car, and he pulled out of the driveway. I put on the radio and started flipping through the channels before he stopped me at what sounded like the beginning of "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot.

"Wait, wait! Leave it here babe." I stopped flipping through the channels and he started singing along. Within the first fifteen seconds of him singing along, I was laughing so hard there were tears in my eyes.  
"What's so funny?" he asked me.

"You singing that song." I chuckled out after taking a breath.

"What's so funny about it?" he actually looked like he had no idea, which made me laugh even more.

"You're singing about enjoying big butts. Think about it, babe." I explained.

"Yeah, so? I like a woman who has an ass versus some skinny chick who has nothing back there." he explained.

"Really?" I asked. I was starting to wonder if we were really having this conversation or if it was all in my head.

"Really," he said. "You know, you may not have caught me but I'm extremely guilty of staring at your ass. Often." he confessed. I blushed at his words and a whole new giggle escaped my lips. As we pulled into the sandwich shop down the road from the grocery store, I smiled at the idea of us – him and I. It felt as if we were living together, and I absolutely loved it. It was the best feeling in the world. After we ate, we drove to the grocery store and Jai pushed the cart. I walked beside him and we started talking about sides to go with the meal ideas we'd discussed at the sandwich shop while we were eating. We started at the back of the store and worked our way back towards the fruit. Standing over by the pork, I was in the middle of asking Jai a question when someone interrupted.

"What up sexy?" I look over to the deep voice to see some guy with his pants hanging low enough that I could see his underwear. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Jai and he ignored them as well.  
"Hey _girl_" the guy got close enough that I could feel his breath on me. I turned the front of my body more towards Jai and continued to ignore the obnoxious person when he grabbed my shoulder.  
"Bitch, I'm talking to you!"

"Alright that's _enough_!" Jai stepped between me and the guy and forced him to let go of me. I quickly hid behind Jai, scared shitless.  
"I think it's time you leave my girlfriend alone, mate." I heard his Australian accent clear as day.

"How about you fuck off, bro? We were hitting on this fine piece of ass right here." a second guy made an attempt to step toward me but Jai blocked him off too.

"No man, I don't think so. I think you were disrespecting my girlfriend." I watched from behind Jai as he came to my defense. And so many women in this world believe that chivalry is dead? I definitely _don't_ agree.

"Well why don't you get the hell out of the way so we can find out straight from _her_?" the first guy tried to get past Jai and Jai shoved him backwards. As if he knew the guy would swing at him, Jai gently pushed me back a little bit so that I wasn't so close behind him. When the guy swung at Jai, he ducked and retaliated with a punch of his own – knocking the guy down in one hit. The second guy stepped back and lifted his leg, swinging it at Jai. Jai caught it in his hands and lifted it up so the guy lost his balance and fell on the floor.

"I already told you both," Jai said while they were still on the ground. "I don't think you guys were trying to hit on any_thing_, nor any_one_. I think you were disrespecting my girlfriend. Now, I think it's best if you resume your shopping as we resume ours before the store security removes you." Before the guys could decide whether to leave us alone or resume a brawl with Jai, security came up and grabbed them both. I saw the store manager approaching us as well.

"I am so very sorry," he looked from Jai to me as he spoke. "We do not tolerate customers disrespecting and attempting to brawl with other customers. Please continue your shopping while we call the police and get these two arrested." he explained.

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate it greatly. I am sorry that I had to use violence to get them to back off." Jai apologized, putting his arm around me gently.

"Your reaction was purely self-defense. What these two clowns were doing was absolutely uncalled for and ridiculous. You two have a nice day. We will take care of this and show the police the footage on the camera." and with that, the manager walked away. I wrapped my arms around Jai's waist and laid my head on his chest. He kissed the top of my head and then rested his chin in the same place his lips were.

"Are you okay?" he lifted my chin to look at him. I could see the concern on his face. I nodded. "You sure?" he asked.

"Just a little shaken up, I'll be okay." I reassured him with a smile. He kissed me softly and I linked arms with him as we continued our shopping.

When we got back to the cottage we're staying in, we brought in the groceries and started putting them away. After I finished putting away the last of what I'd grabbed, I went out onto the screened in room. After ten or fifteen minutes, I felt Jai's arms around me and his chest against my back.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" he asked softly in my ear. I smiled before answering him.

"That I'm thankful for you." I turned to look him in the eyes. "You protected me today. I am so happy that you did." I smiled at him. He planted a kiss on my lips and smiled at me.

"I did what any good man would have, baby. That's what good guys do." he told me modestly. I kissed him softly, but with passion. He grabbed the chair that was sitting a few steps away and sat down, leading me to him with my hand. I sat in his lap and he put his arms around me.  
"You deserve to be treated with the utmost respect," he told me. "You deserve the best of the best, and I will always do my damnedest to give that to you." he looked at me sincerely. I was definitely in love with him. He kept me safe, made me feel the most comfortable I'd ever been and he treated me like a queen. I couldn't imagine my life any better than how it is now.


	9. The First Day

**Chapter Nine – The First Day**

**Kayla**

Jai encouraged me to come with him to his first day on set, claiming a friend was going to be there, and I'd have another actor girlfriend to hang out with while they were filming. I didn't really need convincing though, since it meant I got to spend time with Jai instead of sitting in our little temporary cottage home by myself all day. I'm sure another part of his reasoning was that he thought I was still shaken up from the jerks in the grocery store, and he was right – I was still a little shaken up. But being around Jai made me feel safe, the safest I've ever been. It was wonderful.

"Babe, are you almost ready to go?" I heard Jai next to the bathroom door.

"Almost." I finished shaking my hand, coated with a mix of hair putty and water to just the right consistency, through my hair and taking one last look in the mirror before opening the door.

"Wow," he grinned. "You look great." I kissed him on the lips before going to grab my clothes off the bed, I was wandering around in a sports bra and my pajama shorts.

"Thank you," I grinned as I reached for my blue and white chevron striped, medium length, strapless dress I had picked out to wear for the day. As soon as I'd finished adjusting it to make it comfortable on my body, Jai came behind me and put his arms around me.

"Mmm, we may be late to set today if that's what you're wearing." he slightly moaned in my ear as both of us rocked our hips left and right in sync. He gently started placing kisses along my neck, making me release a soft moan of my own.

"Baby, you need to be on time." I replied. Granted, I'd love to just lay in bed with him all day long but I knew he had a job to do.

"But baby," he whined.

"Baby nothing," I said, still enjoying his breath on my neck and the occasional kiss. "You have a job to do."

"But I also have a job as a boyfriend that I need to keep up with. And with you looking as gorgeous and as sexy as you do in that dress, I just might have to put off my job as an actor to take care of my job as a boyfriend." I turned to look at him and saw him grinning back at me.

"Baby, you can take care of that later. Right now we need to get your butt to the set before I get labeled as a bad influence on you." I blushed as he kissed my lips with soft passion. It was at that moment I knew that we were going to be a little late for his first day.

When we made it to set, I saw a guy standing with his back to us next to a gorgeous girl. When the guy turned around, I recognized him as Miles Teller.

"Jai where the hell have you been man?" Miles asked him as they hugged.

"Sorry, I got a little held up before getting here." he flashed his grin at Miles before hugging the girl beside him. "Miles, Keleigh, this is my girlfriend Kayla." he motioned to me. "Kayla, this is Miles Teller and his girlfriend Keleigh Sperry." I smiled and waved shyly.

"Nice to meet you." Keleigh leaned and hugged me, making me feel a little less awkward.

"How long have you two been together Jai? You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend before you went home." Miles asked him. I giggled.

"I met her while I was home actually." I heard Jai tell him. "We were both on the beach and I saved her from drowning." I flushed bright red when he added that part. Before anyone could say anything else, both guys were called to do a scene. Miles planted a kiss on Keleigh, and Jai planted one on me before the two of them walked away.

"C'mon," Keleigh nudged me with a smile. "Let's go sit down and watch our men work." I followed her over to the designated seating area and we talked quietly as they filmed. After a little while, we both got quiet and I simply watched Jai work.

After they were done for the night, the boys took it upon themselves to decide that we were going to have a double date night in. Miles and Keleigh stopped at their place before coming over, and Miles and Jai went out for a few while Keleigh and I got ready.

"They seem really close," I noted, looking at Keleigh.

"They have been ever since filming The Divergent Series," Keleigh smiled at me.

"Were they like this from the beginning?" I asked as I combed through my clothes in the closet. I couldn't decide what I was going to wear.

"Not at first, no. Jai thought Miles was a little immature, I think. But once they realized their senses of humor were pretty similar, they became fast friends." Keleigh explained. "So are you staying the entire time he's here filming?" she asked from the bathroom as I was getting changed.

"No, I'm only staying two weeks and then I gotta get home to LA." I answered, putting on my medium length red dress and then searching for my red flats to go with them. "How about you?" I asked. "Are you staying with Miles the whole time he's here?"

"Most of the time I will be here," she answered as I found my flats and walked over to the bathroom to see her finishing up her makeup. She was in a gorgeous floor length pink dress with lighter pink lace around the shoulders and chest area. "That is gorgeous! Look at you!" she beamed at me. "Here, I'll do your make up… you just sit down right here." she guided me to sit on the lid of the toilet while she did my makeup and we continued talking.

"Keleigh?" I heard Miles call out.

"Kayla, where are you?" I heard Jai's voice.

"We're up here getting ready!" Keleigh turned to the doorway to holler back to them. Thank goodness, because she probably would have deafened me a little if she hadn't.

"Take your time ladies! We'll be out back starting up the grill!" Jai called back. It didn't take us long to get finished, and when I looked in the mirror I didn't even recognize myself. I looked more like an actress than some plain-Jane dating an actor. Keleigh did amazing work. I hugged her as thanks, and we both carefully made our way downstairs to our guys.

"Let me go out first so I can give you an introduction," Keleigh grinned as she stopped me before we made our presence known to the guys. "I wanna see Jai's jaw drop when he sees you." she added. I nodded and she walked out first. I heard Miles pay her a compliment and her thank him before I heard her begin my introduction. "Okay boys, let me introduce the gorgeous and wonderful…. Kayla! Okay Kayla, come out!" she half-giggled as she called to me. As I stepped over the threshold leading outside, I looked up to catch a glimpse of Jai. I watched as his face changed from blank to shock. I heard him gasp and saw his jaw drop as I walked towards him. I stopped when there was just inches between the two of us and I smiled at him. He gently put his hand on two of the curls that touched my shoulder as he looked into my eyes lovingly.

"You look beyond beautiful. Like a goddess." he said profoundly before placing a soft but passionate kiss on my lips. I blushed, but kissed him back, smiling when he pulled away.

"You did her makeup, didn't you?" Miles asked Keleigh and we both giggled as Keleigh nodded her head.

"She has some awesome skills, that's for sure." I pointed out with a grin. Jai planted another kiss on my lips, telling me I look marvelous before turning to tend to the grill.

"There's wine coolers in the fridge for you ladies. I know Keleigh likes them but Kayla Jai wasn't entirely sure what you liked." Miles told me.

"I'm sure whatever wine coolers you guys picked up are fine." I grinned as Keleigh took off to the kitchen. I turned and ran to catch up with her. "Did you see Jai's face when I went out there?" I asked in excitement and disbelief.

"Yeah! I thought he was going to take you right then and there." Keleigh giggled and I flushed pink, my grin growing bigger.

"I think I saw him thinking about it." we both went into a fit of giggles. I turned to look out the kitchen window at the boys as they talked to each other. "What do you think they're talking about?" I asked her, gesturing to the window. She walked over to me after popping the top off her wine cooler and looked out there. I saw her watch them carefully before answering.

"They're talking about you." she looked at me. "Miles asked him how long you're staying and what he's going to do after you go back to LA, but I can't read Jai's lips because of the position he's standing." I stood there for a moment and realized Jai had his body turned just enough so we could only see one side of his face and I frowned. Keleigh put her arm around me and offered a small smile.  
"It'll be okay," she encouraged. "Whatever he said had to have been good. He's never looked at anyone the way I've seen him look at you." I knew she was trying to be positive and make me feel better, but I could also tell that she was being honest. Her words weren't coming because she simply wanted to make me feel better – she was telling me the truth. "Are you worried about him getting distant when you two have to go your separate ways?" she asked me. I simply nodded and she put her drink down to wrap me in a hug. I set mine down too, hugging her back. "Nothing's going to happen, I promise." I heard her say softly. "The absolute worst that _could_ happen is that he goes out of his mind missing you." I saw the grin on her face and let out a small chuckle. We grabbed our drinks and walked back out to sit with the guys while Jai cooked on the grill. I was so happy that Keleigh said what she said, and I was glad to have someone I could talk to about it face to face since Susanna wasn't here. Granted I could email and text her, but then I still had to wait for a response and that made it harder when my mind was overloading with a multitude of negative thoughts. While I was looking forward to spending time with Jai these next two weeks, I _wasn't_ looking forward to how fast the time would fly, or how much I would miss being around him. It was going to break my heart, and potentially shatter me in two.

_You idiot._ I heard the little voice in my head again. _You __**are**__ in love with him._ Fuck. That little voice had been right all along.  
How am I gonna do this?  
What do I do next?  
Dammit. This was not what I planned **at all**.


	10. The Hard Goodbye

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the wonderful comments/reviews. I CAN say that there will be a "I love you" very very soon!... but I want the moment to be _perfect_. I hope you understand.

Quite a few song references in this chapter. If you recognize it (or if it's a song title with the artist's name beside it) it's not mine. I really hope you like it. I know there is a great amount of drama and emotion in this chapter… so if you need it feel free to grab a tissue or two. Also know that I am sending e-hugs to everyone reading this chapter whose heart it breaks seeing things so sad.

**Chapter Ten – The Hard Goodbye**

**Kayla**

The two weeks flew by faster than I thought they would, and I still hadn't talked to Jai about how I felt. Keleigh and I talked a lot about it, and we became very close friends, but no matter how badly I wanted to tell Jai how I felt I just couldn't bring myself to do it. As I finished packing the rest of my stuff, including the things Jai had bought for me over the last two weeks, I was thankful Keleigh was in here with me and Jai was downstairs talking to Miles as I let a tear fall down my face.

"Do you really have to go?" I heard the concern in her voice and realized she noticed the tear. I wiped it away and sniffled before answering.

"Unfortunately," I replied with so much strength. It took more than I thought I'd had to hold it together. "I have to get back to my job or it won't be there for me when I _do_ go back." I looked up at her and could tell there was something she wasn't telling me. "What is it?" I asked.

"Jai told Miles – in confidence so don't tell him I told you – he doesn't really want you to go." I was so surprised by her words I couldn't even process what she just said to me.

"He said that?" I asked in disbelief. She nodded and I sat on the bed next to my suitcase dumbfounded. How could he feel this way about me and not let me in on it? "Why didn't he tell me?" I heard the words come out of my mouth, but I didn't recognize the emotional tone that came with it. I felt a lump in my throat and immediately knew that the rest of the day was going to be difficult.

"He's a softie, but still has a habit of hiding his deeper feelings." she explained. "Usually those are the only feelings he confides in Miles with." I felt the tears welling up in my eyes as I processed everything that I'd been told. It was hard to walk away from a man who felt that way when I felt the same way about him. I knew I loved him, but I still hadn't told him, and today wouldn't be a good day to tell him either since I'm leaving. Why does this have to be so complicated?  
I'm snapped out of my thoughts when I hear footsteps coming up the stairs and I wipe my tears away, quickly getting up and walking to the bathroom to put water on my face. As I'm drying it with a towel, I happen to hear Jai's voice asking Keleigh if I got all my stuff packed up to go down to the car. She tells him yes and I hear nothing else. I poke my head out of the room to see Keleigh sitting on the bed alone, but my suitcase is gone. He'd taken it downstairs. Five minutes later I see Jai in the doorway.

"You ready?" he asks me, concern a clear emotion on his face. I nod and Keleigh and I follow him downstairs and the four of us get into the car – Jai in the driver's seat, me in the passenger and Keleigh and Miles in the back seat. I took a deep breath, watching the scenery as we start heading for the airport. Jai put on the radio and I heard the song Say Goodbye by Skillet playing. _Of course. Typical karma._ I thought. Fuck, man. Why did this have to be harder than it already was?

_Don't say goodbye, 'cause I don't wanna hear those words tonight._

'_Cause maybe it's not the end for you and I._

_And although we knew this time would come for me and you._

_Don't say anything tonight, if you're gonna say goodbye._

I felt the tear slide down my face and I quickly wiped it away, hoping Jai wouldn't notice. I think he did though, because he slid his hand over mine and gave it a caring squeeze. I took another deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to hold it together.  
_C'mon Kayla, keep your shit together._ I thought to myself. Easier said than done. Why in the world did shit have to be this hard? Wasn't life already hard enough throwing me into a relationship with a man who I used to tell my friends was the perfect eye candy? Who'd have thought he'd turn out to be the perfect man, too? I know I didn't.

When we got to the airport, he walked me as far as they'd let him – Miles and Keleigh came in with us as well but trailed behind a little bit to give us a few minutes alone while we said our goodbyes.

"Well, this is it." I said, not sure what else _to_ say. He put his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.

"I'm gonna miss you." he looked deeply into my eyes as he spoke. That was all I needed to hear, and I fell apart. He pulled me to his chest as I bawled my eyes out, shaking so violently that it felt as though he was shaking with me. Dammit! He had gotten to me and broke down my strength with four of the simplest words in the English language that put together meant the world when said with his gorgeous Australian accent. You'd like to think that at that moment I'd tell him I love him, right? I wish I had. With a tear-stained face I pulled away from Jai, forced myself to calm back down again, hugged Keleigh and Miles, and then gave Jai a hug and the best, most passionate kiss I could possibly muster before I picked up my stuff and walked towards security, and eventually the gate I needed to get to in order to go back to LA. I couldn't possibly have said goodbye to him, it would have hurt too much. I couldn't even tell him that I'd see him soon or later or anything else because any words from my mouth would have been far too painful coming out and it already hurt enough having to leave him here in Charleston.  
When I boarded the plane and sat down in my seat, I hit play on my MP3 player. The song that started was Warrior by Demi Lovato. I let myself cry, silently. I didn't want to draw attention to myself. My heart felt empty, and I felt numb. I even felt nauseous and contemplated grabbing the barf bag in the pocket in front of me. This was worse than any feeling I've ever experienced after a break up, and I couldn't understand why it hurt so bad. We didn't break up, we were still together… so why did this feel so horrible? Almost 5 hours later, I was home in LA, and getting ready to exit the plane. I didn't want to be home. I didn't want to even get off the plane. I wanted to go back to my boyfriend and be in his arms. I wanted to spend time with Keleigh and watch her and Miles giggle and comment about how adorable Jai and I were together. I wanted to go back to seeing him protective of me like he was at the grocery store. I wanted to see that fire in his eyes again that I'd seen the first time we had sex. I wanted to go back to when we met and do it all again. I wanted to fall in love with him all over again and to be on the other side of the continent from him killed me. I couldn't see his smile, I couldn't watch him laugh as I did something cute or silly, or chuckle at him as he did something funny. I couldn't see his reaction when I soaked the both of us with a water balloon filled with ice cold water. They say 'home is where the heart is', and that quote popped into my head at this very moment. This place didn't feel like home anymore. LA was no longer home to me. My heart was with Jai, to me that was where home was. And right now that was in Charleston.  
I kept walking until I heard my phone go off in my pocket. It was a text message from Jai. It read:

_Be brave, Kayla. I know this distance is going to be hard on you, but we can get through it. Just don't hesitate to call me if you need to talk. I will always answer my phone for you. xoxo – Jai_

I walked over to a group of seats to my right, sat down and cried with my head in my hands for a little while.

"Miss, are you okay?" I shot my head up to see a guy with a name badge. Based on his appearance, he looked to be a pilot. I quickly wiped my face before answering.

"Yeah I'm okay, just missing someone." I didn't know why I was telling this to a stranger, but right now I didn't really care. "I just had to leave my boyfriend to fly back home so I don't lose my job and he couldn't come home with me because he had to work."

"That's gotta be tough," he sympathized. "Long-distance relationships are very hard, but if you really love them you'll get through it." he encouraged. "And judging by the way you had to come sit down and cry in public after a text message I'm assuming was from him, I think it's safe to say the love you two share is unlike any other, and you'll overcome this distance together." I sat there to think about his words after he walked away. After a little thinking, I stood up and went to collect my belongings from baggage claim. Things might be rough right now, but maybe in time they'd get better. I had to hope so, for the sake of my relationship I had to be positive and had to be strong.

A month had passed since I'd gotten back from Charleston. Everything that was bad before I left to go to Australia had gotten worse when I got home. My roommate was a total bitch all the time, and we were almost brawling each other nightly. To make matters worse, I was in deep shit with work, and a lot of people were spreading rumors about me. I hadn't told my roommate, nor anyone at work that I had a boyfriend, though Jai and I Skyped almost nightly when my roommate wasn't home.

I got home from a very long and overly shitty day. Normally I didn't drink on nights I had to work the next day, but tonight I was making an exception with some sweet red wine. My roommate and I had gotten into it again before she stormed out of the apartment in her usual fashion, slamming the front door so hard it knocked a few things off the wall. I'd have given anything to be in Charleston with Jai tonight. I'd had enough of the bullshit of being home with everyone acting like complete dicks. I sat in my room, the bottle of wine on my bedside table beside my half-full glass, waiting for him to call me. When I heard the call come in, I was holding my glass and answered the call with my other hand.

"Hi beautiful." he smiled at me. "You're drinking?" he asked, surprised.

"I had a really ugly day." I said simply before taking a sip of wine. "And half the bottle is already almost gone." I added.

"Wanna talk about it?" he asked, and just as I was about to answer him my roommate let herself into my room.

"What the hell are you doing?" I snapped at her.

"I wondered why you were never on your computer when I was home!" she grabbed it from me. "Now I know why!" what the fuck was this bitch doing? Oh yeah, asking for an ass whooping. "Who is this guy? Hi!" she looked from me to Jai. "Who are yo-" she didn't even finish her sentence before it registered and I saw her face change. "Oh my gosh you're Jai Courtney!" she exclaimed and I slammed my palm against my forehead. "Wait a minute, how the fuck do _you_ know Jai Courtney?" she asked me in a snotty tone.

"Jai, I'll talk to you later! I love you!" the words slid out of my mouth before I had time to think about what I'd said as I pounced my idiot roommate and closed my laptop, glaring at her.

"You _love_ him, huh?" she asked, reminding me what I'd just said. In my mind, I was kicking myself and calling myself a stupid fuck for letting the words come out. Maybe I could redeem myself later. But right now, I needed to stand up to my roommate and not let her see that my saying it to him was an accident.

"Yes," I replied stiffly. "_I_ **love** him." I emphasized each word as I said it back to her.

"What the hell would your stupid ass know about love? Doesn't he know you're just some obsessive fan?" she sneered.

"He's my _boyfriend_, you twat-waffle." I said flatly.

"Bullshit." I watched her let out a nasty laugh. "I bet he's just looking to get laid and go onto the next girl. No one would ever want you for more than just a simple, pity fuck because you're a sleazy, skanky ass hoe bag." I didn't even have to think about what I was about to say to her.

"Pack your shit and get the fuck out of my apartment. You're no longer welcome to stay here." I went to pick up my computer and she tackled me to the floor, grabbing my hair and slamming my head against the tan carpet floor. I quickly moved my hands to break her grip on my hair and I punched her in the nose. She fell off me and I quickly stood up, grabbed my laptop and my cell phone, and took off to the bathroom, locking the door behind me so she couldn't get in. I quickly called 911, and as I explained what was going on, I also sent a message to Jai on Skype letting him know that I was dealing with roommate drama and that I would call him either later tonight or we'd talk sometime tomorrow. I didn't mention the words I'd uttered before closing my laptop on him because I didn't want to think about it. I certainly didn't want our first 'I love you' to be through a Skype call, either. I heard pounding on the bathroom door and my roommate yelling, "open the door, bitch!" as my laptop started making noise. Jai was calling me. Shit. What do I do? Before I have enough time to think, the ringing stops and I hear a ding. I read the screen and see that Jai had messaged me wondering what was going on. I sent him a quick message that said I'd tell him later, but couldn't talk right now and sat, waiting for the police to come. When I heard a pounding on the door, and a faint announcement informing me it was the police, I yelled as loud as I could.  
"Come in! She has me locked in the bathroom and she's perched outside the door waiting for me!" I hoped they heard me. I heard my phone go off and noticed a text from Keleigh asking the same thing Jai did on Skype and I sent her a quick message back.

_Please tell Jai not to worry. My roommate has gone psycho and the police just got here. I'm okay, my head hurts a little but once I can get medical attention I'll be fine. I'll call Jai after the police leave._

Just as I hit send, I hear a knock on the bathroom door.

"Miss! Are you in there?" I hear a male voice. I unlock the door and open it to see one of the officers standing in front of me and the other, a female officer, restraining my idiot roommate. They must have heard me yelling from in here.  
"What is going on here, ma'am?" he asked me.

"She," I pointed to my roommate. "Tried to beat the shit out of me after I told her to get out of my apartment. Legally I can kick her out whenever I want as her name is not on the lease. I have a copy as proof." I told him.

"I see. Will you be pressing assault charges against her?" he asks me as his partner calls for an EMS team to come and take a look at me. Apparently they could tell that I'd been attacked, or at least that's my guess. I nod and watch as the female officer arrests my roommate and reads her rights to her. EMS came, checked me out and told me it was a minor concussion and to take it easy for a few days. They also suggested I go see my doctor the following day before telling me to take care of myself and leaving. The officer had taken down some information and then walked back over to me.  
"I'll see if she has anyone that can come get her belongings tomorrow. If not, when she is released we will send an officer here to ensure your safety when she comes to get her things." I nodded, thanked them and walked them out after he took down a little bit more information.

After locking the door behind them, I was beginning to feel overly touched out on being in LA. None of this shit would happen if I was in Charleston with Jai, and I damn well knew that – it pissed me off to not still be there with him. Remembering that I promised to call him back, I grabbed my laptop out of the bathroom and went back into my bedroom. Lucky for me, he was still on Skype, so I clicked his name and initiated a call. He picked it up after two rings.

"Kayla, are you okay?" I see Keleigh on the other end. I give her a half-assed nod and yawn – all the drama has me exhausted. I hear her call to Jai and tell him that I'm on Skype and hear him rush over to the computer on his end.

"Baby what happened?" he asked me. I could tell he'd been very worried about me.

"My roommate is a psychotic bitch." I muttered, grabbing my head and wincing from the pain.

"Okay, that's it. I'm getting on a plane and coming to be with you." Jai was not enthused in the least bit that he had to see me so unhappy, and I could tell. Time to be brave.

"Babe, I'm fine I promise. It's just a minor concussion." I told him and saw his eyes grow wide. Shit. Guess I shouldn't have mentioned that.

"What the fuck did she do to you?" his voice heightened as he spoke.

"She slammed my head on the floor a few times and tried to beat the shit out of me when I told her to get the fuck out for being a rude and nasty bitch." I explained.

"Are you sure I don't need to come out there?" his tone was concerned. I assumed Miles and Keleigh weren't within earshot because neither of them said anything.

"I'm sure babe, just stick with what you're doing okay? I'm rather touched out on everything here anyways." I told him, looking away from the computer for a minute.

"What do you mean?" I could tell I'd have to explain because there was confusion in his voice.

"I mean I'm sick of all the bullshit going on here," I began. "My roommate had been a bitch since I got back, and work is not much better." my voice cracked. "I'm tired of dealing with all of it and I know none of it would be this way if I was there with you." I couldn't hold it back anymore, and I broke down. "I'm so sick of dealing with people's bullshit and to realize that it's only been a month that I've been away from you doesn't help me at all." I said through my tears. "I'd rather be there with you and tell my boss to go fuck himself." I added as I wiped my face because my eyes were so blurry it was impossible to see Jai on my computer screen.

"Do you have vacation time?" he asked amiably.

"Not for a little over a month yet, no." my tone was unintentionally whiny as I wiped the tears away again.

"So, October then? How much time do you get?"

"Not nearly long enough." I took a deep breath. "Two weeks." I exhaled, trying to relax.

"Take the last two weeks of October off, I'll make the arrangements so you can fly out here and let me make you feel better. Plus we can spend Halloween together." he smiled sympathetically at me.

"I'll put in the request for time off tomorrow when I go in." I told him.

"Good, now smile beautiful. You know it kills me to see you in tears when I'm too far to hold you in my arms." I heard the heartache in his voice and it broke my heart as well.  
"I have to ask you something though," he hesitated. The way he said it, I had a feeling it was about what I'd said before I closed my lap top when my roommate went insane on me.

"If it's about what I said earlier please can we not talk about it." I said quickly. "It slipped out and I really don't want to talk about it." I know that made it sound like I didn't mean it, but I really didn't want our first 'I love you' to be over the internet. It just doesn't feel as meaningful that way, to me.

"Oh," he said simply, and I could tell he was feeling dejected. I felt bad, I truly did… but at the same time I really didn't want to talk about it.

"Kayla!" I heard Miles in the background and Jai slid to the side a little bit so I could see him. "I got everything situated for Jai so that you can come the last two weeks of October." he grinned at me.

"We're excited to see you!" Keleigh smiled at me with her arm around Miles and her hand on Jai's shoulder. I knew she was trying to make him feel better because it was clear he looked down in the dumps, but I also knew he looked that way because of me.

"I can't wait to see you, baby." Jai smiled at me suddenly. I thought I saw the gears in his head turning, but I wasn't certain. I shrugged it off and smiled back at him.

"The last two weeks of October can't come fast enough, trust me." I told him.

**A/N:** Emotional and dramatic chapter right? Let me explain why Kayla's roommate is so nuts-o… okay? When I originally started writing this fic, I had the idea that her roommate needed to be a complete bitch and give her more stress and fuel her reason for spending the summer in Australia, as well as not wanting to be home. The more stuff she hates when she's home, the more fuel she has to want to be with Jai because he makes everything better in her mind. Okay? I feel like I owe all of you that explanation, so there it is.


	11. Halloween in Charleston

**A/N: **Okay, so this chapter is meant to make up for all the sad-sad in the last one. This one has quite a bit of funny, and I REALLY hope you guys love it as much as I loved writing it. Please please please review, and tell me what your favorite part of this chapter is! And don't forget, you can get updates on this story by following me on Twitter (tigger_mom023) and Instagram (tiggermom023). I will also have more fics posted on my WattPad (StephanieKaleto) soon, including the "Face Down" song fic that used to be up on here. So! Definitely make sure you check that out too!

**Chapter Eleven – Halloween in Charleston**

**Kayla**

Thankfully my two week vacation request was approved, and before I knew it I was back on a plane to Charleston to see Jai. When I arrived, I shoved my MP3 player into my pocket and waited my turn to get off the plane. When I got past the security check point, I saw Jai standing around a group of people who were also waiting for people from the same flight I was on. Beyond happy to see him, I ran to him and he caught me in his arms, lifting me off the ground. He planted a strong but passionate kiss on my lips before setting me down and handed me a gorgeous bouquet of wild flowers he had in his hand.

"These are for you," he grinned. "I remember you telling me once that if you were given flowers, you adored these." he looked so proud of himself, and my heart leapt seeing the look on his face.

"You are amazing." I kissed him and we took off, hand in hand, toward the baggage claim. When we got there, he spotted my bag right away and grabbed it before returning his hand to mine and leading me out of the airport and to the car. As we pulled out of the airport parking lot, he started up a conversation.

"So, how's work?" he asked me. Given that I'd told Keleigh I was on my boss's shit-list, I definitely didn't want to tell Jai it was awesome… so I told the truth.

"Less than fantastic," I replied simply as I looked out the window at the city life around us. "I'm on, 'the list'." I added as I used my hands to emphasize on my saying "the list".

"The shit-list?" Jai asked, glancing over at me quickly before looking back at the road.

"Yep, that'd be the one!" I sighed. "I just can't seem to do anything right to those people."

"It'll get better, baby." he encouraged. I let out another sigh and lowered my head.

"I dunno babe," I said as I slid my hand through my hair. "At the rate I'm going they're gonna send me back down to the mailroom."

"You'd look sexy in the mailroom," I saw a grin appear on Jai's face. "Throw in the idea of you wearing a sexy little dress and I'd be happy to watch _you_ work _all_ day long." I can't hold back and end up bursting into a fit of giggles. "What?" he looks at me with a serious face and I continue laughing. "I'm serious!" he lets out a chuckle, making it even less believable than it was to begin with.

"You're bias." I said simply. He laughed harder. "You know it's true!" I added as I looked at him. We pulled into the driveway of the cottage and Keleigh came running out of the house and to my side, opening the door for me and embracing me in a hug.

"Ahh! I missed you so much!" she told me.

"I missed you too!" I felt so special. I felt like I belonged here. Like I was back home again. We got inside, and Miles helped Jai carry my stuff up to the bedroom while Keleigh lead me into the backyard.

"Jai has been so sad since you left." she told me. In an instant, my heart broke. It killed me to know that he was so unhappy with me not being around.

"Well, don't tell him but I'm pretty sure I'm getting fired soon." I told her, watching her eyes get wide as she processed my words.

"What the hell happened?" she asked in shock.

"I just seem to piss them off left and right. They're actively trying to get me to quit, and I just keep doing my job and trying not to tell them to sit and twist." I was getting pretty mad just thinking about how big of assholes my coworkers and boss have been since I got back from my vacation.

"Does Jai know?" I had a feeling that question was coming next and I immediately shook my head. "I didn't figure he did. If he did he'd probably be asking you to stay here with him full time." she reacted as if she wasn't supposed to say that, I noticed, as her eyes got wide and she looked at me in shock. "_Don't_ tell him I told you that!" she and I shared giggles. "Jai told Miles, and Miles didn't know I was listening when it was said. As the boys came out of the house, our conversation came to an abrupt halt about that topic and we started talking about other stuff.

"Jai told me upstairs that you're on the shit-list at work." I looked at Jai and playfully stuck my tongue out, receiving the same gesture in return before answering Miles.

"Yeah, they are acting like total assholes to me to boot. I seem to piss them off by simply breathing." I giggled as Jai put his hand on mine. "So, what's new with you guys? How's the movie coming along?" I asked.

"It'd be better if Jai would stop being such a sour-puss." I saw Jai glare at Miles as he spoke and then whacked Miles in the arm. "Ow! What? It's true!" Miles exclaimed, his voice cracking as he let out a high pitched 'true'. I giggled and put my arms around Jai.

"You really miss me, huh?" I asked him. He looked at me and nodded. I smiled warmly before kissing him. "You need to cheer up so you guys can finish the movie and you can come back to LA." I teased a little. He let out a light chuckle before embracing me and kissing the top of my head.

"You are something else, my little firecracker." he grinned at me.

"Firecracker, huh?" I asked, returning his grin. I felt a little flutter in my belly and a small shiver up my spine. This is the kind of love I want to be in. Right here, with him. It never gets old.

"Yep. You manage to make people's shit lists, you fight off psycho roommates, and the only time you ever need rescuing is when you get knocked over by an Australian wave." Keleigh let out a snicker and Miles joined in shortly thereafter.

"Which one? You or the one you rescued me from?" I fired back, trying to hold back my giggle. Keleigh and Miles burst into laughter and Jai grinned at me, letting out a little chuckle himself.

"Both?" he and I shared the laughter Keleigh and Miles were already in and I gave him another kiss.

"You are too cute for your own good." I told him and he sent me a Cheshire cat grin. This was how I wanted my life to be. Here, with him. And I knew deep down in my heart that if I wasn't with him I wouldn't be truly happy.

After a week of being here, things had gotten so routine for me. I went with Jai to the set, Keleigh and I sat and talked while our men worked, and on days off the four of us spent our time hanging out together. We spent so much time together on and off set that Keleigh and Miles came and stayed with us for the remainder of filming. It was so awesome to have them around, and we all got along fantastically.

One morning I'd gotten up to use the bathroom, and then took a shower immediately after. When I got out I dried my hair, brushed my teeth, threw on deodorant and left the room to go get dressed. As I'm looking through the closet I hear Jai come running out of the bathroom.

"Okay who didn't flush?!" he yelled, laughing and making a disgusted face. Keleigh and Miles appear in the doorway and we're all glancing at each other, not saying a word.

"Don't look at me," Keleigh says as our eyes focus on her. "I don't use that bathroom." she added and it hit me that bathroom happened to be the one in the room Jai and I slept in. Meaning there was no way that it was anyone else but me or Jai, and since he was the one that found it, clearly it couldn't have been him. _Oh no_! I thought. Embarrassment flooded into me like a flowing river and I tried to keep it hidden from the three of them.

"It wasn't me." Miles snapped me back to reality. "Kayla?" Miles asked in disbelief. I shook my head no, and tried to fight the smile that was forming at the corner of my mouth.

"LIAR!" Keleigh yelled in a giggle, and I hid my face in embarrassment.

"Oh my God, Kayla that was you?!" Jai asked in disbelief. "That thing was fucking huge!" he started laughing. I was in a fit of embarrassed giggles myself.

"Wait, what was i- oh. OH!" Miles looked at me. "You shit and forgot to flush?" he asked, laughing. I nodded.

"It was an accident! I took a shower right after and didn't want the water to get ice cold on me from flushing." I said in my own defense as the three of them stood around in fits of laughter. Jai came over to me, putting his arm around me and kissing the top of my head.

"I think I'm going to have to nickname you shit-butt from now on." he grinned.

"You really are evil." I shook my head at him, a grin on my face. He hugged me and placed a kiss on my lips.

"Looks like another milestone for you two. Next thing you know, you will be ripping ass in front of one another," Miles said. Keleigh and I laughed, and Jai threw a pillow at Miles, hitting him right in the face.

"Oh hush!" I heard Jai and we all went our ways to get ready for the day. We were going to the pumpkin patch since Halloween was in a few days, and then a few days after Halloween I had to go back to LA. When we arrived at the pumpkin patch, we started searching for the four biggest pumpkins we could find. As we looked, Miles and Jai were both approached by fans, asking for pictures and autographs. I stood by Keleigh and smiled as we watched our guys oblige their fans.

"So, this is the life eh?" I asked Keleigh as I lightly hip-bumped her. She grinned at me before answering.

"That it is. Twenty-four seven." Keleigh replied with a small smile. After we picked our pumpkins, we paid for them, then went home to gut and carve them. Instead of throwing away the seeds, Keleigh and I rinsed them and left them out to dry on paper towel. Once they were dry, we salted them and put them in the oven to cook. After they were done and cooled enough, they were put into a little glass bowl in the middle of the dining room table so we could all just grab some as we passed through.

"So what's the plan tonight?" Keleigh asked as she sat down beside me on the living room floor with a handful of pumpkin seeds. Before I can answer her, I'm caught off guard by a very loud, girlish scream coming from upstairs. I quickly jump up and bound up the stairs, Kayla close behind me. Halfway down the hallway, I'm stopped by what felt like a wall, knocking me on my butt.

"Kill it! Kill it! Fucking KILL IT!" I hear Jai. I look up to see a petrified look on his face, and I give him a 'what the fuck?' look in return.

"Kill what, Jai?" Keleigh asked, as clueless as I was.

"The huge fucking _monster_ in the bathroom!" he exclaimed.

"What's going on out here?" Miles asked, coming out of one of the rooms.

"Something damn near scared the shit out of Jai in our bathroom." I explained, walking towards our room. When I reached the bathroom, I looked on the floor. "Jai, what the hell am I looking for?" I hollered.

"On the wall!" he yelled from the hallway, so I looked up on the wall and saw a pretty decent-sized daddy long legs spider. I chuckled for a few minutes before speaking again.

"It's a daddy long leg spider!" I told them. I heard chuckles in the hallway and Jai telling them it wasn't funny in an offended tone, but it really was kind of funny. "Hey Miles, can you bring me a plastic container and a piece of paper?" I called out. After a few minutes Miles brought me the two things I asked for and as Jai, Miles and Keleigh stood in the bedroom, I put the container over the spider so it couldn't escape.

"What are you doing?" Jai asked me from in the bedroom.

"Letting it go in the back yard." I told him.

"It's gonna get back in if you do that!" I shook my head.

"It will not, chill out." I said through a chuckle as I maneuvered the piece of paper under the spider and he fell into the container. Keeping the paper over him so he couldn't escape, I took him downstairs and out the back door. I walked over to the edge of the fence and moved the paper so he could get out before setting the container on the ground and walking away. I would go back and get it later, but for now I had a boyfriend I needed to check on.  
"Okay," I noticed them all in the living room. I took a seat beside Jai and put my hand on his leg. "Your big monster is no longer in the bathroom. Why don't you go get ready so we can go to the haunted house?" I suggested with a grin on my face.

"I still think you should have killed it." he said simply before going upstairs.

"He's afraid of spiders?" I asked. Miles nodded.

"There was a fake one on the set of Divergent that Ansel kept using to mess with him because it looked real. It was hilarious." we all giggled.

"Okay, we need to get ready or we're going to have to hear about him being ready before us because we were too busy laughing about his arachnophobia for half an hour." I stood up and the three of us went upstairs to get ready ourselves.

When we were all ready to go we loaded up in the car and Jai pulled out of the driveway, still going on about the spider until we got to the haunted house. When we got there, we went and bought our tickets and then got in line. They were taking people through the house ten to twelve at a time, so the line was moving pretty quick. When it was our turn, we were grouped in with two couples and another group of four. As we made our way through a Victorian-era house, the 'hostess' – a woman who looked to be about my age in a dress that fit the time period of the house – spoke to us about each room she took us through. As she led us up the stairs, she spoke about the different rooms. After one of the rooms, we heard a loud slam from behind Keleigh and she screamed, jumping on Miles. The entire group laughed and the hostess continued on to the last few rooms before leading us to what looked like an old-fashioned study. She pulled on one side of the book case to reveal a secret passage way. She explained that we'd be on our own from then on, and to be safe. Jai had a grin on his face as he encouraged me to go first since I was so brave killing the spider, and I playfully nudged him before going first. Coming down a small number of stairs, I led the group by a weird looking monster thing sitting in a plastic chair. I hesitated for a moment to see if it would move before I made my way towards the next set of stairs and it lunged at me. I jumped and screamed, so startled I probably would have wet myself if I hadn't gone to the bathroom before we left. Jai, Miles and Keleigh all laughed at me and I stuck my tongue out at them.

"Okay Miles, you think it's so funny – you lead." I encouraged him. He and Keleigh moved in front of me and Jai and led us down the stairs. When we got down them all, we came to a room that had a dirt floor. I looked at Jai confused before the lights went out and it got dark. After a few minutes, the room started lighting up with a white light flickering on and off. I realized it was a strobe light. A few moments later, carnival music began to play and clowns started coming through parts of the wall that I didn't realize were doors. Suddenly I heard girlish screams again, and as I strained my eyes to see who it was, I could barely make out Miles with help from the strobe lights. Jai must have seen it too because he started laughing when I did. After what felt like eight or nine minutes of the clowns trying to torment us, they opened one of the walls to let us move on to the next area.

"And you were laughing at us. Looks like you need to join the club." I flashed Miles an evil grin and he stuck his tongue out at me as we advanced to the next part. It was a very small room, barely big enough for all of us to fit into. It was dark and smelled slightly of mold and fresh rain on wood. The more we looked around, the more all of us realized we couldn't see anything. Suddenly I felt something touch my head and I screamed. Soon after, I heard a few other screams – two of them being Keleigh and Miles. Quickly some light was around the room and I heard Jai yelling. I looked over to see a decent sized spider inches from his face. It looked as though it was staring at him and moving its legs. Miles nudged me and pointed to its back legs as they moved.

"Watch," I heard him say. After a moment, I caught a faint glimpse of the string that held part of the spider and I realized it was fake. This, of course, made me laugh rather hard. Jai jumped when it moved closer to him and touched him, pushing his hands away from his body in hopes of shoving the spider away from him before running over to me and hiding behind me, making me laugh even harder. After a few more minutes I felt pounding coming from under my feet. I looked down, when light was suddenly shining right above me, and saw a person pounding on what looked like plastic flooring at our feet and I jumped. I heard the person screaming, and then registered them to be female. It was hard to tell before that because they were covered in dirt. It wasn't long before we were given an open passage to the next place, and we quickly got out of there. I heard booming loud music, and registered the song as Dragula by Rob Zombie. Once all of us were in the room, the music descended in volume and a tall man with an athletic build approached our group in an intimidating fashion. His hair was short, brown and spiked in all directions.

"Hello!" I caught a glimpse of his fangs. He was supposed to be a vampire. I assumed everyone else was as well, minus the girl in the corner wearing tattered clothes and her hair in a mess. No, she looked intimidated. She was definitely supposed to be human. "Welcome to my dominion!" his voice snapped me back to what was going on and away from the girl. "As you no doubt can tell, we are vampires. Whether you stay or not is up to you, but if you do don't expect to remain alive for long." he grinned evilly as he stared us down, moving his eyes to meet different pairs of eyes in our group and then locking his on mine. Before I knew what was going on, the girl in the corner of the room was screaming bloody murder as two of the guys grabbed her, bringing her to her feet. I knew it wasn't real, that it was all for show, but it _looked_ real. They must have been trained actors, I'd guessed. I watched as the guy who had spoken to us upon entry bit the girl's neck until her body went weak, making it look as though he was changing her into a vampire. One of the girls in the back of our group screamed in fear. Before I could do anything else, the door to leave opened and a bouncer-looking guy motioned for us to exit and go on to the next part of the haunted house. I led the group; not so much because I wasn't afraid, but because I was showing courage in the face of intimidation. Jai had grabbed my hand as we were getting close to the door of the next area and I held on to his all the same, feeling even stronger and braver than before. I loved haunted houses – they were frightening, but I loved them nonetheless.

When we got to the next area, the door remained closed. I tried to open it and it wouldn't open. I knocked. Nothing. _What the hell_? I asked myself. I took a step back as the door slowly slid open on its own and we were granted entry. When we got in, I began looking around. There was very little light, making it almost impossible to see, but from the little light I was able to make out that we were in a barn of some sort.

"It's a barn!" I called out to the silence. I had no idea what was ahead of us in this place, but fear of the unknown was never high up on my list so it didn't worry me that much. Behind us, I heard a scratching sound.

"What is that?" one of the girls asked.

"I have no idea." I heard a boy reply. Suddenly, I heard one of the girls closer to me let out a scream and I looked up. I heard Keleigh gasp and Miles yell, "Oh my God!" as I caught a glimpse of what they saw – a person hanging from the ceiling of the barn. They looked dead. Jai put his arms around me protectively, but I took a braver stance despite his arms being around me. I happened to glance at a far corner and saw a person pulling their body with their arms, heading in our direction.

"It's zombies!" I yelled, making the connection. I heard a few mumbles, but nothing audible. I used my left arm to point and my right arm to tap Jai's leg, which he'd conveniently placed within my reach. He jumped a little and I said, "Look!" so he could see what I was seeing on the floor.

"Back up guys!" he called to the rest of the group that was behind us. We all took a few steps back before the girl from earlier screamed again. I whipped my body around to look at what she was screaming at and saw another one coming towards her. Within moments I heard screams coming from other directions as well. They had surrounded us. The zombie on the floor had grabbed my foot and I jumped. Once they were inches from us, someone opened a door on the side of the barn that the zombie on the floor came from.

"Hey! Unless you have a desire to be zombie food, you might wanna come with me!" I heard the guy. I nudged one of the zombies just enough to get them out of the way before making my way towards the guy in the doorway. The rest of the group followed me and we all got out of there.  
"That was close, wasn't it?" he asked, sounding relieved. I nodded, and judging by his glance at other people in the group, I wasn't the only one nodding.  
"Follow me," he said and started walking. We followed him until we reached a corn field.  
"You have to make it through this to get to the end." I watched him gesture to the corn field. It turned out to be a maze. "Good luck, I hope you make it out alive." and with that, he was gone.

"Alright guys, let's go." I started easing my way into the maze, assuming they were behind me. As we got a good part of the way into it, we thought we were almost out when I heard a yell. The voice hollered, "oh my God!" and a few of the other girls screamed. I looked over to see a guy in what looked like a sweater, fedora hat, dark pants and what looked like knives on one hand. To his right was another guy in dark clothes and a light colored hockey mask, his left a wolf man. They began coming after us, and we ran another direction. When we thought they'd stopped chasing us we slowed down, quite a few of us out of breath from running – except for Miles and Jai anyway – but that didn't surprise me.

"Do you think they're still chasing us?" the same voice I heard yell 'oh my God' earlier asked.

"Probably not." I replied, still doubled over trying to catch my breath. I looked up and happened to see a man holding a sign that said 'this way to get out' and I stood up straight and pointed to it. "Hey guys, look! We found the way out." I watched as they all looked over in the direction I was looking and heard a few cheers before we started walking towards the man with the sign. After we passed him, I heard a chainsaw. I looked behind us and the guy that was holding a sign no longer had the sign. Instead, he was holding the chainsaw. Screaming, I started running and the rest of the group followed suit again. Once we got around near the front and I saw the line of people getting ready to go in, I knew that we were not being chased anymore and I slowed to a stop to catch my breath once again. The group of twelve of us broke apart into the groups we originally came in and Miles, Keleigh, Jai and myself all started walking towards the car. Jai put his arm around me and kissed my cheek.

"Did you have fun?" he asked.

"I had a blast." I beamed. "That was a lot of fun."

"Good. I'm glad." he grinned at me. "Can I talk to you for a minute alone?" I stopped just a foot or two away from the car as Keleigh and Miles kept walking. Jai got Miles' attention and tossed him the keys so he and Keleigh could get in while we talked.

"What's up?" I asked him.

"I know normally I'm this big tough guy," he rolled his eyes at his own words before continuing, "but I really miss you when you're not around." he looked me in the eye as he confessed. "I hate it when you're not here, and it makes my heart hurt." I didn't know what to say to that, so instead of saying anything I just kissed him.

"I miss you when I'm not here too," I told him. "I feel more at home here than I ever did before in LA." I smiled at him. He smiled back, pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head before we walked the rest of the way to the car and got in. Tonight was great. Great friends, great life, great _love_. What? Love? Oh, right. I still have to tell Jai how I feel…


	12. I Love You

**A/N:** Happy May everyone! :D I hope you have a wonderful month. To any of you who are moms and reading this – happy early Mother's Day!

If you don't already know, you can get updates and sneak peeks on future chapters by following me on Instagram (tiggermom023) and Twitter (tigger_mom023). I've also started a blog on Tumblr called Quotes on Pretty Paper where I write a quote each day on a piece of scrapbook paper that I have, snap a picture and post it along with whatever I choose to say (which usually isn't much) for that particular day. You can find that at tumbler dot com / blog / quotesonprettypaper (take out the spaces and replace the dot with an actual period and you'll be good!). I do quote Divergent (have once so far of the three I've posted) among other things… and I also take quote requests here and there.

A few of you have been telling me "It's about time that…"…. So, this chapter is for you! Enjoy!

Please review! I love reading what you guys think.

**Chapter Twelve – I Love You**

**Kayla**

Three months has passed since I left Charleston from my two week vacation spending Halloween with Jai, Keleigh and Miles and things had only gotten worse. The only good thing about being back was that my psycho roommate hadn't tried to come after me anymore, but I think that was just because I filed a restraining order against her after someone came to get her stuff. I was almost to work when the song When You're Gone by Avril Lavigne came on the radio. I put the car in park as I pulled into a parking spot and listened to the rest of the song. As I paid attention to the words, I broke down into tears. I hadn't gotten to talk to Jai as much as I wanted to because of how busy he was, and talking to Keleigh helped a little, but she wasn't Jai. It took me thirty minutes to regain my composure, and I realized I was late. Shit. I took a deep breath, and got out of my car. When I got up to the floor I worked on, the secretary waved me over.

"Amy needs to see you, _now_." referring to our boss by her first name. Great. I was already on her shit list, what else could possibly go wrong? I walked to the correct office door and knocked.

"Come in!" I heard and I carefully but cautiously turned the doorknob. "Ah, Kayla. Come in and have a seat." she gestured to the two chairs in front of her desk before looking at me.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Well, I'm going to be honest with you here Kayla. You're not pulling your weight around here." Amy said flatly. "And normally I'd just say you're going back to the mail room, but then you were late today-"

"I know, and I'm really sorry about that but-" I was interrupted.

"Kayla, I don't want to hear excuses about your boyfriend being off doing whatever ridiculousness. You're fired." I stared at her in disbelief. _Fired_? Me? Fuck! "Lisa will give you a box for your personal belongings and walk you to your desk so you can gather your things and then she will escort you out." I sighed in defeat before standing up and walking back to the secretary's desk in shame. She helped me carefully gather my things, apologizing to me and then walked me out as Amy said she would. When I got home, I sat for hours crying before I picked up the phone and called Keleigh.

"Hey beautiful! What are you doing calling me while at work?" I heard her voice on the other end, cheerful and full of happiness.

"If you're near Jai or Miles, make an excuse to get out of earshot. I need to talk to you." I said blatantly. I knew she'd be able to tell by my tone that something was up, we were close enough friends that she knew me really well.

"Okay, what happened?" I heard a few minutes later.

"I got fired." I sniffled.

"Have you been crying?" she asked.

"Uh huh." I burst into tears again.

"What are you gonna do?" I heard her say. I didn't know what to answer until my eyes locked on a picture of Jai and me from the night we went to the haunted house. It clicked in my head at that moment what I needed to do.

"I'll see you guys in a few days. I need to make some arrangements and I'll let you know when I get there. Can you arrange for someone, neither Miles nor Jai, to come get me from the airport when I come?" I asked.

"I can come get you, no matter what day it is." she said.

"Okay. I'll send you a text with the details once I have everything arranged. See you soon. And Keleigh," I hesitated.

"Don't tell Jai or Miles. I know." she answered me. I smiled knowing that I didn't have to tell her because she'd already known.

"Exactly. Last thing I need is for Miles to tell Jai or him to find out on his own. I'm pretty sure he won't like me making a spur of the moment decision like this anyways." I explained before we got off the phone. I started taking pictures of everything in my place that I could get rid of and making postings on local for sale website. After making all the postings, I grabbed my keys and got into my car, heading for my bank. When I got there, I spoke to a teller about closing my account and got the money out of my account. By nightfall I had enough money from the few sales I made to buy a plane ticket and decided to call the airport. After I got off the phone with the airport, I texted Keleigh.

_I'm taking the early morning flight Friday. I'll be bringing all of my stuff, which means my suitcase, a backpack and a duffel bag. Can you get the vehicle without Jai and Miles interrogating you?_

I waited and a few minutes later I saw a response.

_I'll borrow the makeup artist's SUV. She and I are pretty good friends from a fashion show she did my makeup on. We'll be fine, no worries._

I started typing a response and clicked send. It said:

_Okay, I'll see you early Friday morning then. My flight lands at nine. See you then._

When I landed in Charleston and got past security, I saw Keleigh waiting for me. I embraced her in a hug and we started walking to the baggage claim, my backpack on my back. I spotted my duffel bag and reached for it, and soon after my suitcase. She took my duffel bag and led me out to the car. We put my suitcase, duffel and backpack into the trunk and went to the cottage.

"So, what are you going to tell Jai?" she asked me as she helped me get my stuff upstairs and into the bedroom. I dug out my chevron print purple sundress and purple flats before going into the bathroom to change and pin my hair in a half up-do.

"The truth, minus the fact that you helped me conspire this plan behind his and Miles backs." I said before washing my face, brushing my teeth and coming out of the bathroom. "Okay, let's go shock the love of my life." I told her. It wasn't anything she didn't already know, so she smiled brightly at me. We got into the car and made our way to the movie set. When we got there, I walked with Keleigh to the makeup trailer and thanked the young woman, who looked to be just a little older than me, for letting us use her vehicle. She smiled at me and we chit chatted for a little bit before going to find the guys. Jai was filming a scene, but Miles was standing off to the side and when he saw Keleigh and I coming, got up and hugged me.

"Does Jai know you're here?" he asked and I quickly shook my head no. "Oh he's going to love this." he smiled at me. A few minutes later, the director called for a ten minute break and Jai caught my eyes. He didn't look very happy to see me, which was unsettling to say the least. I took a deep breath as he walked over to me.

"What are you doing here? I thought you had to work today." he had no problem cutting straight to the point, a blessing and a curse thrown into one.

"I, um," I really didn't want to talk about this here. "Can we talk about it when you're done for the day?" I asked, trying to put off the conversation until later when I had him alone.

"I guess so." he replied distantly before walking off. My heart sank into my stomach and a lump began to form in my throat. This wasn't going to be good. Miles got done early, so he and Keleigh went back to the cottage in the vehicle the studio was letting Miles use. A few hours later, Jai came back up to me.  
"Okay, I'm done for the day. Let's go." he didn't hold his hand out to me and he didn't wait for me either. I walked quickly to catch up with him and when I did, he was holding the door for me to get in the car. After closing it, he got in and started the car.

"Jai, are you okay? You seem upset." I pointed out.

"Tell me why you're here." he demanded. I remained silent. "You told me the other day when we talked about it that you wouldn't be able to come back out any time soon because you'd used up all your vacation time, but yet you're _here_, in the seat beside me. What happened that freed you up to be able to be here instead of there?" he asked. I sighed, realizing there was no turning back now.

"I got fired, okay?" I said simply.

"What do you mean you got fired?" his voice went up half an octave.

"I heard a song on the radio, it made me upset so I sat in the car until I regained my composure and because I've been doing a shitty job they were going to put me in the mail room, but because I came in late they chose to fire me instead." I explained to him with an annoyed tone. What crawled up his ass all of a sudden? I knew we didn't get that much time to talk since the last time I was in town, but I didn't think that was good cause for him to be so detached towards me. I didn't understand it.

"Wait a minute, how long are you here for then?" he asked. I didn't answer. Instead, I looked out the window.  
"You just packed up all your stuff and _left_ LA?" I felt like he was glaring at me, but I was trying to ignore him and focus on the surroundings outside the car. We pulled into the driveway and I got out of the car and went inside before he could even shut off the car. I ran up the stairs and started packing up my stuff I'd unpacked before Keleigh and I went to the set. I realized that all the sweet things Jai had said didn't really hold as much meaning as I thought they did. I felt like a fool for falling for it, falling for him. How could I have been so stupid?  
"What are you doing?" he asked calmly as I put the last of my stuff into my duffel bag.

"This was a mistake, me coming here. You have made that perfectly clear. So, I'll just get in touch with a friend in LA and get out of your life. Maybe they'll let me crash on their couch." I grabbed my phone and tried to walk out of the room but Jai blocked my way.  
"Jai, please move." I asked calmly. I wasn't in the mood for this bullshit. I already felt like an idiot, and didn't need to stick around to see anything more.

"No."

"Jai, I'm not going to ask you again-"

"You need to listen to me Kayla-"

"Jai, I'm not in the mood-"

"Kayla please-"

"Jai, just move-"

"Babe-"

"JAI!" I yelled at him finally. I was impatient and had enough of this. I just wanted to leave and never look back so I could lick my wounds and start the achingly slow healing process.

"No!" he said firmly, staring me straight in my eyes. "I need to talk to you about this. I'm sorry for being an asshole, and I shouldn't have been like that but please sit down and talk to me about this." he gestured to the bed. I exhaled and sat down on the bed.

"What Jai? Are you gonna tell me you don't feel the same way about me? That we took this too fast? Are you gonna tell me I was a fool for thinking that I could move here and expect that you'd tell me we could make it work despite the ugly circumstances? _What is it you want to tell me_?" I asked him.

"This all scares the shit out of me." he said simply, catching me completely off guard.

"What does?" I ask, my voice going from annoyed and hurt to concerned and curious.

"This. Us." he clarified. "I love you, Kayla. And it scares the hell out of me because the last time I loved anyone that wasn't family, I got hurt really bad." I knew this was a monumental moment for us. I knew at this second was when I fell harder for him than I previously had. I knew this because he was baring his heart to me. His feelings. His emotions. _His soul_. And in that moment, I knew exactly what to say.

"I love you too." I smiled at him, feeling almost as if I was glowing. I watched for his response, and he walked to me and pulled me into a hug.

"That feels like it was _long_ overdue." He chuckled.

"What do you mean?" I pulled away to look up at him with a smile still resting on my face.

"It feels like I should have said that that day we were at the supermarket and I protected you from that jerk, or when we said our goodbyes the first time you went back to LA." he explained.

"You felt this way all this time?" I asked. He nodded, remaining silent. "You were waiting for the right time, weren't you?" I asked, figuring that he was doing it because that's what I was doing.

"Plus I was afraid." he added.

"You didn't want to get hurt again, and you were scared it was too soon." I guessed, and grinned when he nodded at me because that confirmed I was right. I touched his face with my hands and kissed his lips softly, but full of meaning. When I pulled away I looked into his gorgeous blue eyes. "I love you, Jai." I said bravely.

"And I love you, Kayla." I felt my heart flutter when he said the words. The best feeling in the world is to love someone and know that they love you in return. No wondering, questioning or second guessing. I walked over to the bed and laid down, he followed suit. I curled up to him and used his chest as my pillow before closing my eyes to relax in his embrace. Before I knew it, I'd fallen asleep.

Three hours later I felt him move and I jumped my head up, startled.

"It's okay baby, I've got you." he soothed. I melted back into him and sat there for a few minutes before I spoke.

"What am I doing about my situation?" I asked him. He looked at me confused. "Getting fired in LA, selling my non-important belongings and moving out of my apartment to come be here with you." I clarified. That reminded him, I could tell by his response.

"Stay here." he said simply. I looked at him like he had three heads and he rolled his eyes with a smile. "Live here with me, for as long as I'm here on set and when I go back to LA you can move in with me." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Were my ears deceiving me or was my boyfriend, _the_ Jai Courtney, telling me to live with him while he's on set, and then when he goes back home to LA to move in with him?

"Wh-what?" I asked, knowing I needed to hear it again for confirmation. He chuckled at me.

"Live here with me, til the end of the movie when I go home to LA, and then move in with me. If it'll make you feel better, we'll pick a mutual place we both like and I'll sell the house I have now." I still could not believe my ears.

"Am I hearing you right?" I asked in disbelief. He chuckled at me.

"Yes babe, you're hearing me right. Just move in with me. Let's take that next step now that we've told each other how we feel." I grinned. I couldn't help it. I tried to hold it back, but it wouldn't stay away.

"You're serious?" I asked. I still didn't know if I believed him.

"Yes."

"Completely?"

"Completely."

"You're not gonna get tired of me?"

"No Kayla, I won't."

"Why's that?" I asked finally.

"Because I love you." those words were like music to my ears. And just like that, it was decided. When we got back to LA, I was moving in with my boyfriend.


	13. Hell of a Day

**A/N:** Hey guys! Here's the next update... the next few chapters are gonna be somewhat short, but that's because I don't find it right to simply add filler and bluster because the chapter is short. Enjoy! If you don't already know, you can get updates and sneak peeks on future chapters by following me on Instagram (tiggermom023) and Twitter (tigger_mom023). I've also started a blog on Tumblr called Quotes on Pretty Paper where I write a quote each day on a piece of scrapbook paper that I have, snap a picture and post it along with whatever I choose to say (which usually isn't much) for that particular day. You can find that at tumblr dot com / blog / quotesonprettypaper (take out the spaces and replace the dot with an actual period and you'll be good!). I do quote Divergent among other things… and I also take quote requests here and there.

Anyway, hope you like this chapter! Have fun reading! xo

**Chapter Thirteen – Hell of a Day**

Kayla

The next four months flew by pretty fast, and Jai and I enjoyed every second of it. We were pretty... _active_, too. We usually didn't drink a lot, but one night we were just having too much fun and got plastered – the both of us. The rumors of us dating started to circulate, and before we knew it the entire world knew about us. We'd occasionally get paparazzi snapping pictures of us when we'd go out, so quite a few times once we got home we'd stay home. We only started going out when we didn't care if we were alone or not, and when we absolutely _had_ to. I also heard his ex was in town, but Keleigh and I both assumed it was just rumors and let it go. After a partially crappy afternoon sitting at our temporary cottage home while Jai was at work filming, I heard the doorbell and I got up. When I opened the door, I saw this gorgeous girl staring back at me.

"Hi," she smiled at me lightly. "Is Jai here?" I stared in amazement. It took me a minute to make the connection. She was his ex girlfriend.

"No, he's at work on set, but I can tell him you came by if you like." I heard the words leave my mouth before I could even think.

"Would you please? I'm Gemma." she said. I told her I would and she left. I walked back over to the couch and flopped myself on it, wondering what the hell she was doing here. Was she after Jai? She must have been if she was here looking for him. Would he take her back? They were together for forever before she broke up with him. And now she's back for him. Maybe she realized she messed up? Now she is here to take back my boyfriend, formerly her boyfriend. Shit. _Oh shit_. I was quickly brought out of my thoughts by the instant need to go to the bathroom. I made it just in time to empty my guts into the toilet. This was definitely not normal. Before I can think much about it, I hear Keleigh talking to me.

"Who was at the doo- are you okay?" she asked without finishing her own sentence.

"I'm fine." I flushed the toilet and stood up to grab my tooth brush. As I brushed my teeth, she picked up my phone and looked at my calendar.

"Um, did you start yet?" she asked me. Shit. No, I hadn't.

"No." I said after spitting into the sink. I cupped my hand to get some water, swished it around my mouth and spit it back into the sink.

"Your calendar says you should have last week." she looked at me in shock. "Are you pregnant?"

"There's no way I could be." I replied without missing a beat. There _was_ no way. We'd always used protection. Right? Yeah... all except...

"Oh _fuck_." I looked at myself in the mirror, shocked.

"You _didn't_?" she looked at me about as shocked as I was when I looked at her after looking in the mirror. "The night we were all shit-faced?" I nodded. "Oh _shit_." and with that the two of us got downstairs, purses in hand, and got into the car. When we got to the drug store a block from the set, Keleigh told me to stay in the car and she went inside. When she came out, she had a small bag and I noticed a couple of pregnancy tests in it.

"Just because we don't know if the first one will be right or not." and with that, we headed back to the house. She followed close behind me as I ran up the stairs and to the bathroom. I quickly ripped one out of the box and peed on it, door sitting wide open. I put the cap back on the test and set it on the counter before wiping, pulling my pants up and washing my hands. We sat in the bedroom for a few minutes before Keleigh got up and looked at the test.

"What's it say?" I asked her. She didn't answer me. Antsy, I stood up and checked for myself. _Positive_.

"Oh fuck."

"That's what got you two into this mess." Keleigh stared at me. I took the second one, not believing that the first one could be right. Positive. I took the last one for the same reason. Positive. There is _no way_ this is fucking happening. No way.

"Fuck!" I fell to the floor in tears. This could not be happening to me. Not right now. Jai's ex is in town, he's working on this movie, we're not in any position to be having babies right now. Hell, we haven't even _talked_ about having babies right now! What the fuck am I supposed to do? I felt Keleigh's arms around me, telling me it would all be okay. It wasn't for long though, because I heard the front door close and Jai's voice coming up the stairs. We both scrambled up to hide the tests and I put water on my face quickly so he couldn't tell I'd been crying. By the time he got up there, we were sitting on the bed fake-laughing over nothing.

"What's so funny?" he asked as he came into the room. I looked up at him, hoping to everything that he couldn't tell I'd been crying.

"Oh, just a joke Keleigh had told me. I thought you weren't due home for another few hours?"

"I wasn't," he kissed the top of my head. "But something happened and they sent me home for the day." I wondered if it had anything to do with Gemma stopping by here.

"What something is that?" I asked. Jai sighed and gave me a look that told me I wasn't going to like what he was going to say, and I instantly knew she had showed up on set.

"Someone... from my past showed up today. On the set." he hesitated, nervous of my reaction. It was so obvious he was worried what I'd say or how I'd react.

"You mean your ex?" he looked at me, surprised that I'd even known. Guess soon it'd be my turn to explain stuff to him.

"How'd you know?" he asked. Yep, my turn.

"She stopped by here. I told her you were at work, so I'm guessing she knew where you worked and showed up there." I explained to him nonchalantly. It took everything in me to not give way to the fact that I was stressed. I didn't need him figuring out that it wasn't about her, let alone what it _was_ about.

"How would she even know to look for me here?" he asked me. I shrugged and watched him, waiting to see what he was going to say or do.

"Do you think she showed up there first and someone gave her the address here to come find you?" Keleigh asked.

"I hope not. If someone did they'll probably get in trouble for it once they're found because people like that can't be trusted. Next thing you know we'd have fans showing up being stalker-like." he went into the bathroom and closed the door. I looked at her, freaking out. She mouthed "chill, I took care of it" and I came back with "I hope so" before he came out of the bathroom.

"So, what are you ladies up to, hanging out here at the house?" he asked.

"Nothing." we said in unison. He stared at both of us for a moment before speaking again.

"Oh-kay," he hesitated nervously. "Well, I'm gonna go swim. Kayla, wanna join me?" I could tell he was looking for a reason to get me alone. I knew that if I said no he'd know something was up, and I didn't want him to catch it. But at the same time, I already thought he knew something was up. Either way, I wasn't chancing it.

"Sure." I smiled at him before grabbing my suit and going into the bathroom. I heard Kayla say something about going to watch Miles film and when I came out she was gone, Jai had changed into his board shorts and grabbed two towels. We walked downstairs and to the back yard. As he walked over to a chair and set down the towels, I went to the ledge of the deep end and jumped in without hesitation. When I came up, Jai was at the ladder getting in.

"So, what was going on up there?" he asked me.

"Up where babe?" I feigned being clueless. I knew he was talking about me and Keleigh, upstairs a few minutes before he came in.

"You and Keleigh, before I got home." I knew it. "What were you two _really_ up to?" I sighed.

"We were talking about Gemma being in town. I told Keleigh I think she's here to try and get you back." I lied. I hope he didn't catch it.

"And that worries you?" he asked as cornered me near the ladder. I nodded. "Why?"

"Because you two were together for a long time, and she left you. I figured after how long you two were together that you'd still be in love with her, even after all this time." I explained, staring at the water between the two of us. He turned and swam to where he could touch and stood up.

"Come over to the stairs with me." he suggested, waving me over. I swam over to them and watched him sit down, motioning for me to come sit with him. I did, and he put his arms around me.

"She _did_ hurt me bad Kayla. But I'm not still in love with her." he said softly in my ear. "I love _you_. Not her." I turned to connect my eyes with his before I kissed him. I felt a little better, but not nearly as much as I should have. I was still freaking out in my head over the positive pregnancy tests. How was I supposed to tell him that we might be having a baby? Granted, we'd been together almost a year already, but we were still in the 'new' stage of our relationship. There was no way either of us were ready for a baby at this point in time. No way.

A few days later, we were on set of the movie and I saw Gemma again. I stopped dead in my tracks as she started walking towards me.

"Hi," she smiled at me sweetly. I wonder if she knew that I was Jai's current girlfriend. "Have you seen Jai?" she asked.

"He's filming a scene at the moment." I told her simply.

"I need to talk to him." she answered.

"There's not really anything I can do about that," I said. "He's filming."

"Did you tell him I came by the other day?" I was beginning to get frustrated with her apparent interrogation.

"Yes."

"And?"

"And what?"

"What did he say?" her tone changed to slightly annoyed.

"He didn't say anything." I lied.

"That's because you didn't tell him." she accused. I rolled my eyes and started walking away before I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Who do you think you are?" she glared at me now.

"I think I'm Jai's current girlfriend and that you might wanna give up and go back home." I warned. I was not standing for this bullshit.

"You won't be for long." she retorted, getting in my face.

"I beg to differ." I happened to see Jai walking this way out of the corner of my eye and grinned at her.

"Why's that?" she glared at me. Before I could respond, Jai came up to us.

"Gemma, you don't need to be here." he said to her simply. I grinned bigger.

"But Jai I need to talk to you." she gave him the pleading, puppy-dog-eyes look.

"Later." he replied. I was shocked. I thought he'd have told her no and the two of us would walk away together, but instead he told her he'd talk later and then walked back to the set to work on the movie, leaving me and Gemma standing there. She gave me an 'I win' look before going to find his trailer so she could wait there and I stood there flabbergasted.

"What the fuck just happened?" I asked myself.


	14. And I Thought it Was Bad Already

**A/N:** Hey guys! So, this chapter is very sad and dramatic... definitely let me know what you think. I love reading your reviews, so please be sure to leave one!

If you don't already know, you can get updates and sneak peeks on future chapters by following me on Instagram (tiggermom023) and Twitter (tigger_mom023). I've also started a blog on Tumblr called Quotes on Pretty Paper where I write a quote each day on a piece of scrapbook paper that I have, snap a picture and post it along with whatever I choose to say (which usually isn't much) for that particular day. You can find that at tumblr dot com / blog / quotesonprettypaper (take out the spaces and replace the dot with an actual period and you'll be good!). I do quote Divergent among other things… and I also take quote requests here and there.

Anyway, hope you like this chapter! Have fun reading! xo

**Chapter Fourteen – And I Thought it Was Bad Already...**

Kayla

Keleigh was taking me to the doctor's for my appointment. Jai didn't know, and neither did Miles – thank goodness. I was having a blood test done to see if the tests were right and I was pregnant. Gemma had still been around, talking to Jai what seemed like every time I turned around. It was beginning to severely piss me off. I had quickly written off everything Jai had said to me in the pool that day about her and us.

"Kayla?" I heard the nurse call my name. Keleigh sat and waited for me in the lobby and I went into the back with the nurse. They drew a vial of blood to run the test, and then told me they'd call me with the results. I was hoping that call would be sooner rather than later so I could know. I walked out and told Keleigh we could go.

"So what'd they say?" she asked when we got into the car.

"Nothing yet," I replied. "They just took a vial of blood and told me they'd call me with the results." the rest of the drive was quiet. I still hadn't told Jai. Hell, I still didn't know what to do with the information _if_ the blood test came back positive. When we got back to the cottage and got inside, I saw Miles sitting on the couch. He looked cross, and that was when I realized that he was holding the tests in his hand. I was in shock.

"Keleigh, what in the _hell_ is going on?" he asked her. She looked at me, and I looked at her in return before we both looked at Miles. "Kayla? Keleigh? Someone tell me what in the _fuck_ is going on and why I found these tests in the bathroom!" I took matters into my own hands.

"Okay, okay chill Miles. Is Jai here?" I asked.

"No, he's at the movie set."

"Did you tell him?"

"No, Kayla, I didn't. Now can someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?"

"I think I'm-" I was about to tell him when my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and saw it was the doctor's office. I motioned to Keleigh to handle the discussion and I walked into the other room. When I came back, I heard Keleigh telling Miles I might be pregnant.

"There's no 'might' about it," I looked at both of them. "the blood test came back positive." they both stared at me in shock.

"Does Jai know?" Miles asked me. I shook my head and fell to the floor with my face in my hands. I was fucking pregnant. Jai had gotten me pregnant. How could this happen? I faintly heard Keleigh telling Miles that he couldn't tell Jai what was going on and that I had to be the one to tell him when I was ready, and that if he told him before I could that she was going to hurt him. It all felt so surreal though, so impossible. We'd only been together almost a year, and yet this was happening. What the hell am I going to do?

A few days passed and Gemma had become more of a frequent appearance on set, so I stopped going. I was stressing out big time. I couldn't figure out how to tell Jai, and I couldn't figure out if he was going back to her or staying with me. I was very worried, plus still trying to figure out what I was going to do about being pregnant. Keleigh hung out with me a lot to keep me from being alone, and Miles always joined us when he got home from being on set. Jai had begun to keep his distance, so I was often without him. Miles, Keleigh and I were in the kitchen goofing around and cooking to try to get my mind off of the stress.

"There's no way he'd go back to her." Miles tried to reassure me. "I saw how much of a mess he was when she broke up with him. He was sullen all the time on the Divergent set because of her. I don't think he'd easily forget that."

"Maybe, maybe not." I replied. After a few minutes, a song came on the radio that I liked so I turned it up, and Keleigh and I started dancing around the room while Miles kept an eye on the food cooking on the stove. All of a sudden I'm doubled over in pain. I must have been yelling or something, but it felt like everything had gone silent to my ears. I saw Miles look at the floor in shock and felt Keleigh's arms around me trying to see if I was okay. I felt tears stream down my face, and I knew something was wrong. Miles grabbed a towel and carried me to the car. He put me in the back seat and ran to the driver's seat as Keleigh got into the other side next to me. The towel was underneath me. The next few minutes were like a blur. I was screaming and crying in pain, and when we got to the hospital they helped me into the ER and then everything went black. When I came to, I was in a bed with an IV hooked up to me... there was no more pain.

"What happened?" I asked.

"The doctor should be back shortly." Miles told me. Keleigh was standing beside me, consoling me when the doctor came in.

"Good to see you awake Kayla." the doctor smiled at me sympathetically. What the hell is going on?

"What happened?" I repeated.

"The pain you felt was the baby." the doctor said to me with a sad look. I didn't understand, and I think she could tell by the look on my face. "You miscarried, Kayla. I'm so very sorry."

"Why was there so much blood on the floor?" I heard Keleigh ask.

"She was at the very beginning of the pregnancy, so it just looked as though she had a bigger period, hence the amount of blood on the floor. She wasn't far enough for us to have to do anything to intervene, so she'll bleed for up to two weeks and then go see her doctor to make sure that everything is out of her body." she should have said the word. _The baby_. They're wanting to make sure that everything from the baby was out of my system. That was all I could think about as I listened to the voices around me. I was bleeding the rest of the baby out naturally. They wouldn't have to perform surgery or anything else. I'd simply bleed the rest of the baby out. I put my head in my hands when the doctor left and started crying. Both Miles and Keleigh put their arms around me as I cried. The discharge nurse gave me paperwork to sign, explained to me that I'd need to pick up some overnight heavy pads for the bleeding and to come in if I was still bleeding past two weeks, otherwise they'd want me to make an appointment with my doctor to be seen. After leaving the hospital, Miles drove us home, telling me that once we got there me and Keleigh would go inside and he'd go pick up the pads the nurse had mentioned. When we were about to pull into the driveway, I noticed another vehicle in the driveway. It was Jai's.

"Not a word to him, from either of you." I told them before Keleigh and I got out of the car. I made them both swear not to say a word to him about it and Keleigh and I went inside. I told Keleigh I was fine to go upstairs, and went. When I got to the bedroom I laid down and tried hard not to cry. When I thought I was going to break, I heard his voice.

"Hey, where you guys been?" he asked.

"I had some pain, so we went to the doctor. I'm fine though." I lied. He gave me a scrutinizing look and allowed a small grin to show on his face.

"You don't look fine." he noted. I rolled my eyes and turned to my other side so I didn't have to look at him. "What's wrong babe?" he put his hand on my hip. I huffed.

"Leave me alone, Jai. Please." I moved his hand off me before bringing it back under my pillow where it was before.

"Kayla, talk to me." he whined.

"What do you _want_, Jai?" I snapped as I sat up to glare at him. For so long he was distant, and now all of a sudden he cared. It pissed me off that he could only be here for me when it was convenient for him. It was bullshit.

"I wanted to see how my _girlfriend_ was since she's been avoiding the movie set like the plague." he retorted.

"Well maybe if your _ex girlfriend_ wasn't there all the damn time, I'd probably be around more."

"I told you that you didn't have to worry about Gemma though. We had this discussion in the pool when she first showed up." he snapped at me.

"Yeah, and then the next time I was on set, you told her that you'd talk to her later and left both her and I standing by one another without another word to either of us. Especially _me_." I was sick and tired of this discussion already, but I wanted to lay down and be left alone.

"And I told her that she needed to leave because I was with you and nothing was going to change that." he was clearly getting mad, and right now I just wanted to be left alone. "Unlike someone who has just been distant as hell lately." that was it. Game on.

"Seriously Jai? You're giving me shit for being distant when you've hardly even fucking _acknowledged my existence_ lately. What the fuck is up with _that_?" I asked, visibly annoyed.

"You didn't seem to care, you never said anything before." I was about ready to yell at him. Just because I hadn't spoken up didn't mean I didn't care.

"And how the fuck would you know whether I cared or not?" I asked. Without waiting for him to answer, I kept going. "You know, for future reference, just because I don't fucking speak up doesn't mean I don't care. It _could_, however, mean that I have a lot of shit I'm dealing with of my own and I'm trying to stay strong through all of it!" I yelled at him.

"Well how the hell would I know? You never talked to me about any of it. I bet even if I asked now, you still wouldn't tell me!" he yelled back.

"You're damn right I wouldn't, but not because I didn't give a shit!"

"Then why the fuck won't you tell me? If you care as much as you say you do, why won't you tell me?" I huffed.

"Because!" I didn't want to tell him it was out of fear. He snorted at me.

"Really? _That's_ the best you've got? _Because_? Please tell me you're fucking joking." he let out a laugh.

"Maybe I just don't want to _tell_ you why!" I answered.

"Maybe it's because you don't give a shit!" he yelled back at me.

"I DO TOO GIVE A SHIT!" I yelled so loud someone probably could have heard it up the road. "Maybe it's _you_ who doesn't give a shit, Jai!"

"Maybe you're right!" I took a sharp breath when I heard his words. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut.

"That was fucking shitty." I told him. Talk about a low blow.

"Maybe it was the truth though." he said simply.

"You're fucking kidding me right?" I half-laughed.

"Maybe." he said simply. "Maybe not."

"You know what, fuck you. I'm done with this shit. I'm going back to LA and I'm done fucking dealing with you." I spit, venom in my words as they came out of my mouth. I got up and started packing my stuff. I stopped, throwing my bag down to stare at him.

"Do you wanna know why I had to go to the hospital, Jai? _Do you_?" I asked, not even waiting for him to answer. "I was _pregnant_ and trying to figure out how to tell you. I was talking to Miles and Keleigh about it when I started bleeding all over the fucking kitchen floor!" I saw him gasp and stare at me in shock as I spoke. Any sliver if anger he had was gone. "I _miscarried_ our child, Jai. I had a fucking _miscarriage_ while you were out doing your shit and looking out for number one." I pointed to him. By this time, I had tears streaming down my face. I was so angry I couldn't think straight. "_That_ is what I was doing at the hospital today, you fucking _asshole_." I picked my bag back up and threw it at the wall before I stormed out of the room and down the stairs. I went into the backyard and stuck my feet in the pool, feeling the warm pool water on my bare feet. I leaned, resting my elbows just above my knees and bringing my hands to my face and bawling my eyes out. I hoped at this point no one else would come near me because I didn't want to be bothered. I was fucking over all of it. I was tired of being here, tired of being ignored, tired of being stressed, tired of dealing with everything. I was ready to go back to LA, alone. No Jai, no Miles, no Keleigh, no baby, no anyone or any_thing_. I had never felt so broken in my entire life. I had reached the bottom of the barrel and I had nothing left. I felt the pain in my chest, every other emotion I could have felt was numb. The rest of my body was numb. Just the pain, that was all I could feel. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I jumped worse than I'd ever jumped before.

"I'm sorry, Kayla. Baby I'm so sorry." I heard Jai's voice break as he embraced me in a tight hug. He was crying. "I've been such an ass lately and I'm _so_ sorry. I feel terrible for treating you this way and neglecting you. I should have been paying attention and been here so you could talk to me about this when you first found out." by this time I was crying right along with him, my arms around him and his around me.

"I love you Jai. I do. I don't want to leave you. I was just so mad and so hurt I said a lot of stuff simply because I knew it'd hurt you." I confessed, tears streaming down my face.

"We both fucked up, myself more so, but still. I'm so sorry baby." he held me close and we continued to cry together again.

"I love you." I sniffled.

"I love you too, baby." he stroked my cheek before kissing me passionately on the lips. After he pulled away, he pulled me to his chest and stroked my head as I cried again. I'm not sure how long we sat like this, but it felt like a long time. They say sometimes the best form of therapy is to cry, and in this situation I couldn't have possibly disagreed with it because being in his arms and crying really _was_ the best form of therapy for me. I had hope things would get better. I had faith, and it was all because of him. He was the light at the end of my tunnel.


	15. Paparazzi

**A/N: **Hey guys! So, this chapter is pretty drama-filled as well... but there's SOME good stuff in it.

If you don't already know, you can get updates and sneak peeks on future chapters by following me on Instagram (tiggermom023) and Twitter (tigger_mom023). I've also started a blog on Tumblr called Quotes on Pretty Paper where I write a quote each day on a piece of scrapbook paper that I have, snap a picture and post it along with whatever I choose to say (which usually isn't much) for that particular day. You can find that at tumblr dot com / blog / quotesonprettypaper (take out the spaces and replace the dot with an actual period and you'll be good!). I do quote Divergent among other things… and I also take quote requests here and there.

Anyway, hope you like this chapter! Have fun reading! xo

**Chapter Fifteen – Paparazzi**

Kayla

Over the next few weeks, Jai spent all his free time reconnecting with me. Once I stopped bleeding from the miscarriage we started swimming again, we took walks, and we even started to reconnect in the bedroom. It was great, but there were times that I still felt depressed. I still felt sad over the loss of the child, even though I was freaked out about being pregnant to begin with because Jai and I had only been together a year and we weren't in the 'discussion of children' stage yet. But, he started going with me to therapy sessions when I told him I was feeling depressed and participated at every chance he had. We were able to communicate openly, with no barriers. I felt like I was beginning to heal. My therapist even encouraged us to go to an open field with two balloons, one pink and one blue since we didn't know whether the baby was a boy or a girl, and let them go to float up to the sky and to Heaven in memory of the baby we lost. That was actually what we were going to do. Jai was driving and I held the two balloons. When we got to the field, he helped me out of the car and put his arm around me as we walked up to a hill. I handed him the pink balloon, and held the blue balloon myself.

"One," he looked at me, beginning to count to three.

"Two," I said.

"Three." we both said at the same time and then let go of the balloons simultaneously, watching them float up to the sky. He put his arm around me and held me close, and I wiped a tear from my eye as we watched the balloons go until they were out of sight. Jai turned to me, looking into my eyes for a moment before he gently placed a kiss on my forehead.

"I love you, you know that right?" he asked me. I smiled, tears in my eyes threatening to fall as I nodded my head. I couldn't speak due to a lump forming in my throat. "I don't want you to feel like this baby's death was your fault at all." he smiled sweetly at me, as if he knew that I was guilt-ridden about losing a baby we weren't even ready to have. Knowing he cared this much and showed me in my time of weakness made me feel wonderful, but it still didn't replace the pain I felt losing a child.

"Babe," he said to me. I looked up at him. I couldn't say a word because nothing that would come out of my mouth was able to be said without my voice cracking or me crying.

"You don't have to stay strong," he put his hands on my shoulders and looked deep into my eyes. "I'm right here to catch every tear you let fall. I know you're not okay. It's okay to show that. You can break down. I've got you." I didn't know how to respond. He'd seen right through my facade. He _knew_. Overwhelmed with emotion, I fell apart. I cried in his arms like I had after we fought and I'd told him about the miscarriage. When I calmed down, he carried me back to the car and drove us home.

We spent the rest of the night together. Keleigh was out with some of her friends, and Miles had gone out for awhile on his own so we had the house to ourselves. We laid on the couch and watched movies, snuggled up together. During one of the movies, Jai could tell I found the lead actor in it attractive, and he made it known.

"Damn, do I need to leave you alone for a little while?" he joked with a grin. I playfully slapped his arm and snuggled into him farther, as if I could actually get any closer to him. If I could have then we'd probably have mushed into one person.

"You are such a butt sometimes." I joked back with a grin.

"No... but if you wanna see me be a butt..." he leaned to me and started nibbling my neck as he slid his hand under the blanket we were under, placing his hand on my thigh. I took a sharp breath when I felt him doing these things and knew he was trying to arouse me.

"No baby, _that_ makes you a troublemaker. And if you want to do _that_-" I said, putting my hand on his traveling hand, that was headed for my crotch. "we need to go to the bedroom."

"Why? We're the only one's home." he grinned mischievously. I had to give him that one, and instead of mentioning the bedroom again, I pulled him to me and kissed him, sliding my hand down his chest and under the waistband of his shorts. As soon as I touched his member, I felt him shiver and mumble "oh, baby" with a grin on his face before kissing me again as I stroked him. When I saw a good opportunity, I got on top of him, straddling him. I could tell he had no idea what I was going to do as I slid myself down onto the living room floor, positioning myself between his legs. I slid his shorts and briefs off a little bit, revealing his rock-hard penis sticking up like a flag pole. I looked up at him and I grinned.  
"What are you do- oh. O_h_. Wow." he let out a soft moan as I took him in my mouth and moved up and down his shaft, swirling my tongue around it as I moved. I could tell he was speechless as he took a number of deep, sharp breaths and released moan after moan as I continued.

"Babe, you gotta stop or I'm gonna cum. As much as I love you doing that, this is not how I want to get off." he stopped me. I licked him once more, feeling him shudder and I released a giggle.

"Then how _would_ you like to get off?" I asked sweetly. He kissed my lips before grasping the waistband of my sweatpants and looked into my eyes, a grin apparent on his face.

"Like this." he pulled my pants off and hovered over me, sliding his pants and briefs farther down until he could kick them off his legs completely. He grabbed my panties and pulled them off before inserting a finger inside me. I let out a loud moan as he moved his finger in and out. Once I was good and wet, he pulled his finger out and positioned himself at my entrance before pushing in gently. He moved in and out a few more times before picking up speed. By this time I was moaning pretty loud since we were the only ones home. I was beginning to feel close to an orgasm when the front door came open.

"Jai? Kayla, are you guys h- OH MY GOD MY EYES!" Jai grabbed the blanket from off the couch and covered both me and himself as he turned around to look at Miles. I was so embarrassed, but I couldn't stop laughing.

"What the fuck are you doing home, man? I thought you weren't going to be home til later." Jai said, flushing a bright pink color on his face.

"I got bored so I was gonna come home and play some music or something. What the fuck are you guys doing fucking on the living room floor?" I cracked up laughing and both of them stared at me.

"No one was home, so we-" Jai hesitated trying to figure out how to word the answer.

"No one was home so we decided to break in the living room" I joked, a playful grin on my face. Miles slapped his hands over his face trying to hide the red color he was sporting from blushing and muttered something about going upstairs before leaving us to our naked selves. Jai looked over at me.

"What?" I asked him.

"You are something else." he laughed before kissing my lips. "C'mon, let's take this up to the bedroom before Keleigh walks in too." I giggled and ran up the stairs – butt naked.

The next few days were really calm and relaxing. We went to the therapy session we had scheduled for that morning and everything was coming together. Jai and I were remaining connected, I was beginning to feel a little better, and life was beginning to get back to normal. We got into the car and headed home. When we got there, Miles and Keleigh were sitting on the couch in the living room. Keleigh sniffled, and I could tell she'd been crying, and Miles looked pissed off and upset at the same time.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I don't know how they found out, but they've been calling here all morning trying to get a statement about the miscarriage." Miles looked from me to Jai as he spoke.

"Who?" I asked.

"The press." Jai said in sorrow. "How the hell did could they have found this out?" he asked Miles.

"I have no idea, man." he replied and we were all silenced by the phone ringing.

"Hello?" Jai picked it up. "Yes, this is him... No, we have no comment about it." he said before hanging up the phone.

"Jai, sooner or later we're going to have to talk about it." I said, staring at the floor.

"No we're not. Not with them. We only have another month or two of filming, then we can go back to LA and we don't have to talk to them about it. This is far too personal for them to know details and any other information." Jai told me defensively.

"Babe, I understand your need to be protective here, but I'm not entirely sure we can hide from them about this forever. It's bound to come up in an interview you do to promote the movie." I pointed out. He put his arms around me and exhaled, planting a kiss on my forehead.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt any more than you already have." he confessed. "You've been through so much already, and them finding out about this and pressing us to talk about it could make that worse on you. The pressure is not an easy thing to deal with for anyone. Even experienced actors falter with them at times." I heard the vibrations of his words on his chest. I slid my arms around his waist and looked up at him, resting my chin on his chest.

"If I start to feel worse I will tell you, okay? I promise." I reassured.

"We at least need to call our families first to let them know before it ends up in magazines everywhere and all over the internet." he pointed out. I nodded and he walked me to the couch, sitting down together. I dialed my parents and we spoke to my mom. I told her about my relationship, and that we had gotten pregnant but lost the baby. She was so sympathetic, and told Jai to take good care of me. It was so sweet to hear her voice, and it made me miss her so very much. Next we called his parents. His mom said she'd already heard about it, but wasn't sure if it was true or not. After we told her it was, she said she was sorry to hear that We'd suffered such a loss, and that if we ever needed some time to rest and relax that her and his dad would be happy to have us there at the house. Jai told them we were grateful, and that we needed to get off the phone so that we could handle some of the calls we were getting about the miscarriage before it got out of hand, and with that we got off the phone.

"That seemed rather easy." I smiled lightly at him.

"Don't get so comfortable yet. The hard part is coming." he warned with care. When the next call came in from the press, Jai answered it. I kept quiet as he spoke. He said we were both heartbroken over the loss, and that it was unexpected but still saddened us as much as it would have if we'd been trying to have a baby. They asked him how long we'd been together and he told them a year and going strong, even through the struggles we face. It wasn't long before he'd gotten off the phone and placed a sweet kiss on my lips.  
"I want you to do something for me," he paused.

"Anything." I smiled.

"I want you to brace yourself for everything that is going to come our way from this. People are going to be mean, and there will be sympathetic people but there will also be unfeeling people who will mercilessly try to break you down and shatter you so they can tear you to shreds. No matter what they say, do _not_ take it to heart. I know it's going to be hard to do, but I will be right here the entire time. Right by your side." he looked into my eyes with such concern as he spoke. It made me feel good knowing he cared so much.

The next few months passed by and we were back in LA. Miles and Keleigh helped us move into our new place after we picked one. We decided not to stay where Jai had been living by himself simply to start over, together. My depression had gotten worse, so I was on medicine and seeing my therapist twice a week. Jai was there every step of the way, and I was very thankful. It was easier for him to be there for almost every break down now that the movie was done filming. Just as I'd predicted, he was being asked about the miscarriage in interviews at times, and he answered with such care. They'd also ask him how I was taking it, and he told them I was still struggling, but that we were doing everything we could to help me cope. Unfortunately there were some paparazzi who, whenever we went out somewhere, were relentless about it. They'd constantly ask us questions and follow us. It was getting hard to even want to leave the house. I'd hear all kinds of things from, "was this baby a ploy to keep you two together because you were actually struggling?" to "are you sure it was an accidental miscarriage?". A few times I'd even heard, "was she really even pregnant?" from people. Every single question was starting to get to me, even though I told Jai I'd try not to let it get to me – it was. I couldn't stop it, and it bothered me more that I couldn't keep their words from getting to me. Jai could tell it was beginning to get to me, too. When he saw it, he started trying to distance himself a little bit after realizing he couldn't make me feel better. One evening, I was sitting on the bed thinking about all of it when he stormed in.

"Stop being like this!" he yelled at me, making me jump at the tone of his voice.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You're always depressed, and it's not even about the baby anymore. It's about what the press and paparazzi are saying! And don't tell me it's not because I _know_ it is. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out." he snapped.

"You act like I can _control_ it! I can't help that it hurts me so bad to see them say nasty things about me!" I defended myself. If no one else was going to, then I sure as hell was.

"You _can_ control it! Stop letting them get to you. Stop reading it, stop listening to them, whatever you have to do! Just _stop_!"

"Seriously?" I yelled. "What about you mister 'I'm right here'? You've been distant since my mood started going down hill and you don't even _try_ to help anymore! You don't even try to understand!"

"Because it's always the same thing over and over again!" he defended himself.

"Bullshit! I find myself upset every single day that I miscarried. To the point of tears! Having to wake up and remember every damn day that I lost a child kills me!"

"But you don't even act like it's because of that! You act like it's because of everything people are saying!"

"Jai, the shit they say isn't helping me feel better at all! And neither is this little outburst of yours!"

"I wouldn't be having this little outburst if you'd stop moping and being so depressed all the time!" that was the last straw. I decided to pack a bag. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm going to my mom's. I'm not dealing with this shit, Jai." I finished packing and started going downstairs. Before I reached the door, I turned around to look at him. "I am depressed because I miscarried _our_ child! The mean things people say are hurtful, yes... but I cannot forgive myself for losing that baby despite it being unintentional. Even if you do." I walked out the door, slamming it behind me.

When I knew I was out of sight of the door, I stopped and sat down. I was now without child, and possibly without boyfriend. What the hell has my life turned into? Why was I being put through so much heartbreak? I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen next, but I knew that when I got to my mom's I could figure it out.


	16. Barriers

**A/N:** Hey guys! Alright... so I have to confess something... Brace yourselves...

This is the second to last chapter of the story. But don't go getting upset and sappy on me yet! I have a sequel I plan to launch so you won't have to wait long to see what comes Jai and Kayla's way next! The next chapter will be the final chapter, and I'll be posting the first chapter for the sequel in a few weeks. I need time to finish my current book, as some people are wanting to take a look at it when it's done.

If you don't already know, you can get updates and sneak peeks on future chapters by following me on Instagram (tiggermom023) and Twitter (tigger_mom023). I've also started a blog on Tumblr called Quotes on Pretty Paper where I write a quote each day on a piece of scrapbook paper that I have, snap a picture and post it along with whatever I choose to say (which usually isn't much) for that particular day. You can find that at tumblr dot com / blog / quotesonprettypaper (take out the spaces and replace the dot with an actual period and you'll be good!). I do quote Divergent among other things… and I also take quote requests here and there.

Anyway, hope you like this chapter! Have fun reading! xo

**Chapter Sixteen – Barriers**

Kayla

I sat at my mom's kitchen table, the morning after I'd come here, eating a bowl of cereal when she sat down beside me. I hadn't told her anything when I got there, so she only knew that I was upset and wanted to stay with her for a little while.

"So, do I want to ask what happened between you and Jai?" she asked cautiously.

"We had a fight." I said simply, giving her the heartbroken look I couldn't help but show. I was deeply hurt, and even if I'd wanted to I couldn't have hidden that from her. There wasn't a facade big enough for me to put on that could have hidden that from her, she knew me too well.

"About the miscarriage?" she asked. I shook my head. "About what?"

"The press, the things being said about me, my depression over the baby..."

"Basically everything all rolled into one."

"Yeah, but he's also gotten really distant because my depression went downhill... a lot." I added.

"But that's normal being in the position you're in, to be depressed about everything I mean. Maybe he just isn't sure how to handle it all the time, so he does what he thinks is best by distancing himself until you feel a little better. Maybe he just doesn't want to make it worse."

"Mom, who's side are you on?" I asked defensively.

"Kayla, stop." she gave me her 'don't go there' look and I quickly realized I was being a little dramatic. "Think about it, how many other serious relationships has he been in that you know of? One, right?" I nodded. "Gemma?" I nodded again. "Okay, and maybe she didn't have the same issues you have. Maybe she didn't have a miscarriage and she is used to the press and paparazzi or whatever. Maybe this is his first rodeo with this sort of thing." I opened my mouth to speak but she stopped me. "I know he's a butt from time to time, but all men are. Your father even had his moments." she genuinely smiled at me.

"Moments like this?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes, moments like this. I actually gave birth to a stillborn child before you were born. It shattered me and left an impact for a _very_ long time. Your dad didn't know how to handle it, so he backed off for awhile... gave me some space. We fought, I yelled, and he even let me swear at him. But once I hit my breaking point and I fell to the floor in tears he was right there next to me, his arms around me and telling me it was going to be okay. That he'd be right here beside me." I sat there silently, amazed that she'd never told me this story before. "And that, baby, is exactly what I see in Jai for you."

"He did after we got into the fight about Gemma and I told him about the baby. We both cried, actually."

"You two will get through this." she patted my arm as a form of comfort. "Once you both calm down, you'll talk it through and get on the same page. Then you guys will be happy again. Maybe after that you should just take some time away from everything so that you can reconnect a little better than before. It might do you some good – both of you." she went upstairs. I sat at the table and ate my breakfast then got changed to go for a run. When I got back, I checked my phone. Nothing.

Over the next week, I occupied my time painting, watching movies, sewing and whatever other craft I could occupy my time and mind with to not think about Jai. I was still hurt, but I wanted to talk to him about all of it so we could fix things. I knew I didn't want to lose him over this. I still loved him, after all. I had just gotten out of the shower when I heard a knock at the door. I quickly threw a bra on and put on my white and purple flower summer dress, threw my wet hair into a messy bun and went to get the door. When I opened it, Jai was standing before me.

"Hi." he said with a small smile on his face.

"Hi." I replied, returning the same smile.

"Can we talk?" he asked.

"Sure, c'mon in." I let him in and closed the door behind him. "What're you doing here?" I asked.

"I flew out here to talk to you." I was a little surprised.

"You flew all the way out here just to talk to me? From LA to Pittsburgh?" I asked. I wasn't buying it.

"Well, and to try and convince you to come with me and work this out." he smiled at me. "I'm sorry about the way I've been acting. I-"

"You've never been in a situation like this before, have you? Dealing with someone who has severe depression, that kind of thing." I asked plainly.

"No," he sighed. "I haven't." I walked over to him and hugged him. "You're not mad at me?" he asked. I chuckled and shook my head.

"I talked to my mom the morning after I got here, and she reminded me that depression isn't something everyone has dealt with." I smiled at him before planting a kiss on his lips.

"That explains the phone call I got that night telling me to give it a few days and then fly out here." he smiled at me.

"She called you?" I asked, smile still apparent on my face. He nodded and I giggled. "Typical mom. It's a good thing she loves both of us." I touched his nose with my finger and then kissed where I'd touched.

We spent the rest of the week with my mom before flying back to LA. When we got back, we decided to go spend a week in Australia to get some R&amp;R, as Jai had put it, and began packing to leave. We had planned on staying in a hotel, but after he talked to his parents they insisted on us staying in the guest bedroom there so there was less chance of us being swarmed by the paparazzi... and after losing the baby and being hounded by them the way we have been, his mom told us it seemed like we could both really use it. When we got off the plane, his parents were waiting to welcome us. Jai introduced me and his parents hugged me just as they'd hugged him. After getting our bags and getting into the car, his mom spoke up.

"So Kayla," she turned in her seat to look at me. "Have you been to Australia before?" that alone told me that Jai hadn't told her how we met, and I grinned at him for it.

"Yes, I have. I actually met Jai the last time he was here. I was here for the summer, staying with friends, and he rescued me from drowning at the beach." I explained. I saw Jai shake his head, but couldn't imagine why.

"_Jai Stephen_, you should have brought her to meet us while you two were here!" she tapped his knee – the closest thing she could reach of him. I could tell by her look that she'd have preferred an arm, shoulder or possibly even the back of his head and I let out a giggle.

"Mum, we weren't even serious then! We were just dating." Jai defended himself.

"That _is_ true..." I added.

"Since when has that stopped you?" she challenged, and I saw Jai's mouth close immediately and him look in his lap. I smirked, thinking I could learn a lot in the short week we're here.

"Sorry mum. You're right." I looked shocked for a minute before my expression turned into a giggle as he was being scolded by his mom for not bringing me to meet them sooner.

"But in all fairness, I haven't taken her to see Vashti and the kids yet, either." I remembered him talking about the Whitfields, so when the words left his mouth I immediately made the connection.

"You need to do that too then," his mom replied with a smile. "Maybe your godkids can convince you to stay longer than a week." he grinned at her and she glanced at me, seeing the similar grin on my face as he had on his. We settled into the guest room and enjoyed dinner while I got to know his parents and vice versa. His mom gave me a big hug and we sat and had a heart to heart away from Jai and his dad about the baby after dinner. She told me that the only other girlfriend of his she'd ever met was Gemma, and that she was happy her son had me in his life. "He needed a reason to believe in love again," she told me. It made me feel good inside knowing that I helped him believe in love again.

"Did you have a good talk with my mum?" he asked as I came into the bedroom to get ready for bed.

"Yeah, I did." I smiled at him before going into the bathroom.

"Her and dad are really starting to get attached to the idea of us, you know. My dad told me today they won't be surprised if we're announcing a wedding in a few years." I heard him in the bedroom as I washed my face in the sink.

"And what do _you_ think about that?" I asked, gauging his reaction.

"Only time will tell." was all he said. I sighed in defeat, but not loud enough for him to hear. I rinsed the soap off my face, used the hand towel to dry it and opened the bathroom door. I kissed Jai before walking over to the empty side of the bed. I changed out of my clothes and into the short shorts and tank top I had sitting on the bed before climbing in next to Jai.

"You know, you could just sleep in your underwear like you do at home." he grinned.

"Behave yourself. We're in your parents house." I warned him with a smile.

"But baby," he whined. "do I have to if I do this?" he leaned down and softly kissed a line from my shoulder up to my neck and stopped at a sensitive spot. I began to get the tingly turned-on feeling I always get whenever he does this and I giggle.

"I don't want them to hear us!" I confessed, moving away from his kiss so he couldn't continue. He pouted at me, which was too cute for words. It almost made me melt and give into him. _Almost_.

"Babe! They won't hear us, I promise! Come on!" he was trying so hard to convince me. I looked toward the door and didn't answer him. This must have been just what he needed because I was knocked out of my thoughts by the feeling of his hand traveling fast up my leg, no intention of stopping in sight. Looks like he knows just how to win. After an hour and a half of us acting like rabbits, we finally snuggled to one another and went to bed – naked.

The next morning I was awoken by kisses on my shoulder again.

"You are insatiable sometimes, Jai Courtney." I turned to face him with a grin on my face. He was grinning right back at me, letting out a chuckle.

"I can't help it, laying next to you. You're beautiful, sexy, smart, you put up with my bullshit, you don't let anyone treat you like a doormat, you're flat out perfect for me." he'd given me so many compliments, I couldn't help but blush.

"_And_ it's so cute when you blush." he added, making me turn more red as he kissed my cheek.

"You are something else." I giggled as I kissed his lips. "We need to get up for the day though." I put an abrupt halt to our make-out session as I got out of bed, grabbed my outfit for the day and bounced to the bathroom naked.

"You're gonna be the death of me, woman!" Jai laughed jokingly. I opened the bathroom door just enough to see him and for him to see part of my face and I stuck my tongue out at him before closing the door just as fast as I'd opened it.

"Keep it up, Kayla." he laughed. I got dressed, brushed my teeth and put some acne lotion on my face before I came out of the bathroom and pounced my boyfriend in my mid-thigh length jean shorts and red and gray striped tank top.

"Or what, Jai?" I asked, straddling him.

"Or you're going to have to fix your hair and get dressed all over again." he said impishly.

"Down boy." I hovered half an inch from his face before getting off him and heading for the door. "See you in the kitchen for breakfast, honey!" I called out as I closed the door behind me. I knew he was damning me without even being able to hear him, because he'd have to take a cold shower after my teasing all morning. I was sitting at the table when he came down and shot me a playful glare before wishing his mom a good morning and sitting next to me at the table.

"Just you wait, I'm gonna get you back for that." he promised me.

"Get her back for what?" his mom asked and I put my hand over my mouth so she couldn't see the smile that would not leave my face.

"Nothing mom." Jai said quickly and I giggled.

"You're gonna get her back for nothing?" his mom made a confused face. "That doesn't make any sense." she brought a plate of breakfast for each of us and set them down, one in front of him and one in front of me.

"You don't wanna know." I said. "Trust me." I grabbed my fork and butter knife and began to cut into the pancakes on my plate. Thankfully, his mom didn't press the subject further and we had a nice, quiet breakfast. After breakfast, Jai told his mom we were going out and off we went – just me and him. I had no idea where we were going, and he wouldn't tell me, but when I saw Vashti sitting on the porch while Jesse and Indigo ran around the yard playing, I knew exactly what was going on. I watched Jai shut off the car and run to catch up and play with the kids as I got out and walked up towards Vashti.

"Hi." I smiled.

"You must be Kayla." she smiled at me as she leaned in to hug me. "It's so nice to meet you, finally!" I felt so special, and in that moment I realized that I didn't need to feel down about the discussion Jai and I had about being serious. I knew that if we weren't serious, he'd have never brought me over here.

"It's nice to meet you too. Jai has told me so much about you guys." I said. I wasn't sure if I should mention that he'd talked a great deal about Andy as well, because I really didn't want to upset her or anything, so instead I left it at what I'd already said.

"I've heard a lot about you as well. I was very heartbroken to hear about the miscarriage." she put her arm around my shoulder as she said it. I'm sure it was to offer comfort and support. It was so wonderful to see so many people that he knew reaching out and being so kind to me.

"Thank you. It was, and still is, very hard to deal with. Not as much now as it was before, of course, but still." I didn't really know what else to say, so I left my words at that.

"Grief in itself always hurts, no matter how much time passes. You'll always find yourself missing their beautiful face." she hugged me again. It was so comforting to know that Jai had such a strong support system, and that as long as I was in his life, I would as well. The people he calls family – blood and not blood related – are some amazingly wonderful people and it's a very happy thought to know that.

"You are so strong," I said simply. "Jai has told me about what you've been through and losing Andy the way you and the kids have..." I paused. "I could never imagine being so strong."

"You never know how truly strong you are until you _have_ to be, sweetheart. This time hasn't been easy, even knowing that someday I'll see him again, but I still have two kids I have to be strong for. I need to drag myself out of bed sometimes, but once I see their smiling faces I remember there's still part of him here on this Earth, and that's something. You know?" she explained. I nodded and hugged her as we watched Jai play with the kids.

"Is he always a kid at heart?" I asked with a giggle. It was adorable watching him around his godchildren like this. He was amazing.

"Around them, yes. I've heard stories from when he's not been around them, but you can definitely be sure that when he's around them, he's going to be that way." she chuckled as Jai brought the kids up to us. He introduced me to them and vice versa before Vashti mentioned going in the house to relax for a little while. So, we all went inside and talked while Indigo and Jesse occupied themselves coloring at the kitchen table. Occasionally Jai would excuse himself from the conversation to go sit with the kids and color, but I didn't mind. Vashti and I were getting along wonderfully, and I was loving every minute of it. My mind was pulled out of the conversation with Vashti when the kids started asking Jai if we could stay in Australia longer than a week. I giggled and looked to him for a response, waiting a few moments before hearing him give in and tell them yes. I let out another giggle and smiled at him. He got up and walked over to me, placing a kiss on my forehead before he sat down next to me.

"I was just thinking, why don't we make arrangements to stay in town until two weeks before Christmas? Then we can go spend Christmas with your mom before we go home." Jai suggested. It was a great idea, and I told him so. After that, we decided that was what we'd do.

So, the next two months were spent in Australia getting to know Jai's parents, spending time with them as well as his friends and going to visit Vashti, Jesse and Indigo. It was a very eventful couple of months, but we still got our 'alone' time to help us strengthen the connection we'd been mending for awhile now. We were lucky enough to not have to deal with paparazzi while we were there, which was a definite relief. I was very happy to see we wouldn't have to deal with them. Our little vacation was exactly like my mom had said – we both needed it.


	17. One Blessed Holiday

**A/N: **Hey guys! So this has been a wild, but wonderful ride with all of you who have read this story and followed it all the way to this chapter. Thank you for being such loyal readers, no matter where you got hooked on the story from. All the love you guys show for this story is absolutely wonderful to me and I couldn't be happier at how much you all love this story! Thank you for always being so supportive and all the reviews you all have left. They all mean the world to me! Keep an eye out for the sequel to this, entitled "What Lies Ahead" to see more of what happens in this wild ride that Jai and Kayla are on. The first chapter will be posted soon! Just keep checking back.

As usual... If you don't already know, you can get updates and sneak peeks on future chapters by following me on Instagram (tiggermom023) and Twitter (tigger_mom023). I've also started a blog on Tumblr called Quotes on Pretty Paper where I write a quote each day on a piece of scrapbook paper that I have, snap a picture and post it along with whatever I choose to say (which usually isn't much) for that particular day. You can find that at tumblr dot com / blog / quotesonprettypaper (take out the spaces and replace the dot with an actual period and you'll be good!). I do quote Divergent among other things… and I also take quote requests here and there.

Enjoy! xoxo

**Chapter Seventeen – One Blessed Holiday**

Kayla

After saying goodbye to Jai's parents, Vashti, Indigo and Jesse we boarded our plane to go back to my mom's. We spent quite a bit of time there and Jai and I helped my mom put up the tree and decorate it. I went through the house putting up other decorations as Jai put up the ones outside with help from a few of my siblings. When Christmas came around, Jai spent time in the kitchen helping my mom cook as my siblings, aunts, uncles and grandparents all socialized with him, my mom, myself and one another. My family hadn't met him before, only my mom had, so this Christmas made for lots of questions. After answering my family's questions as best he could, Jai thought it was time to go play with my nieces and nephews. So, he walked over to the little table they were sitting at and started talking to and coloring with them. It wasn't long after that that one of my sisters had come over to sit by me on the small couch.

"He sure is good with children." she pointed out. "Does he have any from a previous relationship?"

"No," I shook my head. "he has two godchildren that he loves to the ends of the Earth though."

"Maybe you two can have a few." she gently nudged my shoulder.

"Maybe somewhere down the line." I replied, beginning to feel like a bit of a failure for miscarrying what would have been our first child again.

"Maybe soon?" she asked with a smile. I shook my head. "Why not?"

"I recently had a miscarriage." I told her. "We're recovering from it, both of us." she hugged me tightly and apologized, saying that she had no idea. We talked about it for a little while before she brought up another topic.

"Have you guys thought about getting married?" she asked me.

"I hinted at it when we were in Australia visiting his parents and godchildren, but I'm not entirely sure he got it." I remembered when I'd asked him what he thought about what his parents had said, and he told me that only time would tell. I couldn't imagine myself with anyone else but Jai, so to think that we might not ever get married bummed me out a bit. We'd come so far, were so in love... wasn't that enough? I'd hoped so.

"He's right though," my sister told me. "only time will tell what happens next with you two." I nodded in agreement as Jai continued to play with the kids, hoping that someday we'd have kids of our own he could play like that with.

Christmas dinner was fantastic! Mom and Jai made a great team in the kitchen, and everyone had said it. After that, we watched the kids open their gifts and then we each opened ours. I looked over at Jai amongst the commotion and smiled at him. He smiled back at me and whispered an 'I love you' into my ear, to which I'd responded with the same.

Instead of going home, Jai had decided we were going to stay here until after New Year's. In addition to it meaning more alone time with him and more bonding time for him with my family, it also meant more time with my mom and more time to relax for us. As the week went on I was surprised to hear that Jai's parents had flown in, as did Vashti, Jesse, Indigo, Miles and Keleigh. I'd hugged Miles and Keleigh when they showed up. Jai had left to go get Vashti and the kids from the airport, so it was just Miles, Keleigh and myself.

"It's kind of weird that all of a sudden his closest family is all flying in. You would think there's some sort of special occasion or something." I said.

"Didn't Jai tell you it was to celebrate Christmas with them as well though?" Keleigh asked. I nodded. "But you don't believe him?" I shook my head. "Why?"

"I just feel like he has something secret planned, and I'm not sure what it is." I happened to look over and see Miles grin at the same time I finished my sentence. "Is there something you know that I don't?" I asked him. He started fumbling his words before he could respond – basically telling me that he knew something I didn't.

"Just be patient until New Year's, okay? Maybe that's when he's planning to let you in on what's going on." Miles had said. Keleigh hit his shoulder and glared at him like he'd told me too much and I giggled. They both knew what was going on, but I clearly had to remain out of the loop.

When New Year's came around, Jai had decided to get everyone together that had flown in, plus all of my family who was here from Christmas all over at my mom's house. It seemed like the two of them were in on whatever plan he had up his sleeve with the way they were. I slid up next to Vashti, who was sitting in the backyard watching the kids kick a ball around, and spoke.

"Do you have any idea what he's up to?" I asked.

"Jai?" she asked me in return and I nodded. "What makes you think he's up to anything?"

"Miles and Keleigh, and all of this stuff him and my mom are working together to do that they claim is for New Year's when Jai said everyone was coming in to celebrate a late Christmas with us. None of it adds up." she chuckled at me.

"Just be patient, okay? I'm not allowed to tell you anything I know about what's going on anyway. I have strict requests to leave you out of the loop, I'm sorry." she hugged me and smiled warmly.

"Is there anything you _can_ tell me?" I asked.

"Keleigh picked out a dress for you for tonight, and she's going to do your hair and makeup." Vashti informed me. I hugged her again and went to go find Keleigh as people started showing up. She took me upstairs to the room Jai and I had been sleeping in and started getting to work on my hair. She put it in a half up-do, pinning some of it back to stay out of my face and curled it. After that, she did my makeup and helped me get into my dress. As I finished putting on my shoes, she had me stand up for one last look.

"You look amazing!" she exclaimed with a smile. "Jai's jaw is definitely going to drop!" she giggled. The two of us walked back downstairs to see everyone there. I greeted his parents with a hug, and that was when I saw someone else that caught my eye: Susanna. She wasn't alone, though, like I'd thought. Keegan, Eli and Mel – plus their significant others – were all here as well. I excused myself from Jai's parents and almost tackled Susanna with a hug.

"I can't believe you're here!" I exclaimed. It was so wonderful to see them, but then I _definitely _knew something was up. Unfortunately, I still couldn't figure out what it was. As the evening rolled on and I greeted everyone, I couldn't find Jai. Everyone I'd asked said they had no idea where he was. Just as I was about to give up hope, I heard his voice.

"Everyone!" my eyes, along with everyone else's, followed the voice to see Jai standing near the stairs. "I'd like to thank all of you for being able to be here to celebrate New Year's with us." he said, seeming to be making his way towards me. I noticed he was in a suit and tie, and I couldn't help but wonder what in the world he was up to. As he reached me, he put his arm around me and kissed the side of my head.

"Kayla and I have been together about a year and a half now, and while I hope there are many years to come for the two of us, I have to say that a lot has happened in that year and a half. Idiot punks in the supermarket, crazy roommates, exes, stress, fighting, and it hasn't been very long that Kayla had a miscarriage... six months ago actually." he paused to look at me and kissed me again.

"And while we still work through that, and face many other issues each and every day, I remember how much I love her and just how thankful I am to have her in my life. Now, she may have told a lot of you how I saved her from almost drowning..." he paused to glance at me for a second. "But it was her who actually saved me from a life of sadness I'd known since my ex and I split up." his eyes locked on mine as he took both my hands in his.

"She taught me how to love again, and that there's always a light at the end of the tunnel. And I can't imagine living the rest of this life without someone as beautiful, selfless, independent, kind-hearted, loving, caring, determined, stubborn and wonderful as she is. So..." he pulled a little box out of his pocket, and when he knelt down on one knee I gasped in surprise.  
"Kayla, the love of my life and the _only_ woman I can imagine putting up with my bullshit for the rest of eternity, will you marry me?" tears of joy spilled out of my eyes as I nodded.

"Yes!" I managed to say, and he slid the ring on my finger, stood up and we kissed as everyone cheered for the two of us.

"I love you, my dear sweet fiance." he grinned at me.

"I love you too, my dear sweet fiance." I repeated him with a giggle and we kissed again. Everyone started coming over to congratulate us, and my mom came up and gave me the biggest hug ever.

"Mom did you see that?" I asked surprised.

"See it? Honey I _recorded_ it!" she and I both chuckled and I hugged her again. One of my sisters came over to congratulate us and look at my ring. It was a white gold ring with a triquetra design on it, as part of my dad's side was Irish, leading up to a heart shaped 14K diamond. It was simple, meaningful and beautiful – everything I had ever wanted in an engagement ring. I grinned at him as we both continued to talk to people. This was the best night of my life. I was now engaged, after all!

When we got back home to LA after New Year's, Jai and I decided to relax a little bit before deciding to tell everyone the news. We chose to do it through an upcoming interview that Jai had for the movie he'd worked on that was getting ready to come out. When the day of the interview finally had come, we sat together as Jai talked about the movie.

"Now, I know you and your girlfriend suffered quite a loss six months ago, is that right?" the interviewer was asking about the miscarriage.

"Yes, we did suffer a terrible loss – our first child." Jai answered, giving my hand a light squeeze.

"How are you two doing with that?"

"We're doing well. It's never easy to completely recover from such a thing, but we're not looking to completely get over it. We're going to remember the baby as we continue down the path to our future." _very good answer_, I thought in my head.

"I heard you two also have some recent, and wonderful news for us. What's going on?" I giggled and Jai grinned.

"Oh, um. We're engaged." he held up my hand to show my ring.

"That's wonderful! Congratulations to both of you! When can we expect to see a wedding happen?"

"We're still trying to pick a date." I answered with a smile.

"I heard he surprised you with his proposal, Kayla, is that true?"

"Yes he did. And actually, I have a little surprise for him now." I giggled. Jai turned to me, completely surprised because he didn't even know I had something else going on and he was very curious to see what it was.

"Jai, I know we've had our ups and downs, but I think things are about to get a bit more roller coaster-like." I paused. "I'm pregnant."

Jai looked at me in shock and I let out a giggle.

"You're serious?" he asked me. I nodded. "How long have you known?" he asked.

"Since the week before Christmas." I grinned. "Keleigh took me to my first appointment after we got back from my mom's and the doctor said I'm 6 weeks pregnant." I told him and the interviewer. Jai looked from me to the interviewer in shock.

"Holy shit," I laughed. "I'm gonna be a father!" we both hugged each other and he placed a strong kiss on my lips.

"Congratulations you two! Looks like you've got a lot of exciting news to celebrate now." the interviewer grinned at the two of us.

I wasn't entirely sure what lay ahead for us, but I knew that through the pregnancy, the engagement and, eventually, the wedding, I'd always have him by my side. After all, I was soon going to be Mrs. Jai Courtney!

**THE END**


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